Cable operators scored a big win in the race for 5G by diving into the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum auction. Three of the country’s largest cable companies – Cox, Comcast, and Charter – collectively bid more than $1 billion to gobble up mid-band spectrum perfectly suited for 5G. This promises to be a game-changer in mobile offerings.
These three large Multisystem Operators (MSOs) bought a collective 19-24MHz for $1.14 billion across their wireline footprints, combining for 4.6BMHz Point of Presence (POPs), or .25 cents per MHz/POP. This is a standard measurement for the value of spectrum based on how many people are covered versus how much spectrum is available.
