January 22, 1997 THE FCC'S CELLULAR UNSERVED AUCTION CLOSED AFTER SIX DAYS OF BIDDING Ten Winning Bidders Offered 1.8 Million in Bids The FCC's Cellular Unserved Auction closed yesterday after 35 rounds of bidding, raising a net total of $1,842,533 to be deposited with the U.S. Treasury. Initial cellular operators, licensed by lottery in the 1980's, were given a five-year period to expand their systems within the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Rural Service Areas (RSAs). The Cellular Unserved areas were created from the geographic areas not covered at the close of the five-year build-out period. In this auction, the FCC auctioned 14 licenses in 11 states. The states included: Hawaii, New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming, Maryland, California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado and Montana. Of the 10 winning bidders, Metacomm Cellular Partners won two licenses, bidding a total of $1 million; Western Wireless Corporation won four licenses, bidding a total of $496,000; and N.E. Colorado Cellular, Inc. won one license, bidding a total of $242,000. Two highly contested markets in this auction were areas in Wyoming and Montana that surround Yellowstone National Park. Winning bids in these markets were $625,000 and $388,000, respectively. "The Commission has once again proven that auctions are the fastest, fairest and most efficient way to get licenses into the hands of parties that value them most highly," said Michele C. Farquhar, Chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. - FCC - News Media contact: Kara Palamaras at (202) 418-0654 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contacts: Tom Horan and Lisa Minard at (202) 418-0660