Verizon Wireless Takes the Gold in FCC 700-MHz Auction

Finally the results have rolled in from this week’s culmination of Auction 73 which finally announced the rightful owners of the 700-MHz spectrum. And the winner is: Verizon Wireless. Yes, Verizon we can hear you now! The official comment from Verizon:

“We are very pleased with our auction results. Specifically, we were successful in achieving the spectrum depth we need to continue to grow our business and data revenues, to preserve our reputation as the nation’s most reliable wireless network, and to continue to lead in data services and help us satisfy the next wave of services and consumer electronics devices.”

What exactly did Verizon win? According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless has taken the coveted C Block. It was also “the largest winner of licenses in the A Block, which are medium-sized licenses, and won 77 more in the B Block, the smallest licenses that were being auctioned off.” Kevin Martin, FCC chairman, said that Google didn’t take any of the licenses. However, AT&T won 227 of the smallest licenses being sold. All in all, that $19.6 billion raised for the waves went to good use. Right?