The FCC has issued its public notice closing last week’s Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I reverse auction (Auction 902). The Auction 902 public notice announced that there were 80 winning bids for a total of $49,806,874 (of a total possible $50 million) for the provision of 3G or 4G mobile voice and broadband services to cover a population of 56,932 on Tribal lands that currently lack these services. Of the 14 bidders that qualified to participate in Auction 902, only five were winning bidders. Alaska wireless carrier GCI Communication Corp. garnered a lion’s share of the support with its winning bids totaling over $41 million. Other winning bidders included Commnet Wireless, LLC; Copper Valley Wireless, LLC; Smith Bagley, Inc.; and Triangle Communication System, Inc. The public notice also indicated that the winning bids covered 18 biddable areas on five Reservations or Tribal lands in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah; 49 Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas; and 13 other biddable areas in Alaska Native Regions. The Auction 902 winning bidders must now provide Tribal notifications and submit long-form applications to be authorized Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
