One specific result of anti-collusion rules for bidders participating in the 600-MHz incentive auctions is that such firms are legally barred from talking to each other about potential mergers and acquisitions. That prohibition will end sometime in March, most likely, when the auction is completed.
That is one reason one hears so much now about possible mega-mergers in the U.S. communications and content business. Most believe a new round of deal-making is about to happen, as scale requirements and business models now reward bigness and vertical integration.
The Federal Communications Commissions has not disclosed bidding by specific companies, but some believe T-Mobile US and Comcast to among the big bidders, those two firms benefitting from set-aside rules that allow them to acquire spectrum, at lower costs, than would have been the case if all assets were part of one single auction. AT&T might be among the biggest bidders as well, though some think AT&T will be more cautious, given its pending acquisition of Time Warner.
So far, the bids have averaged $1.25 per Megahertz per person covered by the licenses in the major markets, some estimate.
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