The FCC Spectrum Auctions: An Early Assessment

Peter Cramton

Papers of Peter Cramton from University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton

Abstract: This paper analyzes six spectrum auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from July 1994 to May 1996. These auctions were simultaneous multiple-round auctions in which collections of licenses were auctioned simultaneously. This auction form proved remarkably successful. Similar items sold for similar prices and bidders successfully formed efficient aggregations of licenses. Bidding behavior differed substantially in the auctions. The extent of bidder competition and price uncertainty played an important role in determining behavior. Bidding credits and installment payments also played a major role in several of the auctions.

Keywords: Auctions; Spectrum Auctions; Multiple-Round Auctions; Efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D44 D61 L96 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 65 pages
Date: 1997, Revised 1998-07-12
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 6:3, Fall 1997, pages 431-495. Reprinted in Donald L. Alexander, Telecommunications Policy, Chapter 5, Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 75-130, 1997.

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cramton.umd.edu/papers1995-1999/97jems-fcc-spectrum-auctions.pdf Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The FCC Spectrum Auctions: An Early Assessment (1997)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pcc:pccumd:97jemsfcc

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Papers of Peter Cramton from University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton Economics Department, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7211.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Cramton ().