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I posted previously about this subject in FCC Auctions Portion of Radio Spectrum back in December, but wanted to report on the progress of Auction 73 (700 MHz Band) since bidding commenced last Thursday:

A startup wireless company expected to bid on the public safety spectrum or "D-block" licenses, Frontline Wireless, had been given a 25% discount because they were a small business, but even so they were unable to obtain financing for the licenses, which had a reserve price of $1.3 billion and could not make the required deposit of $128 million that was due on January 3rd.  The company appears to have abruptly closed and Mary Greczyn, a Frontline spokeswoman, would only state that Frontline "is closed for business at this time."  She declined to answer any questions.

Though the government is not revealing the identities of the remaining bidders, it was expected that AT&T, Alltel, Google and Verizon will be bidding for the most sought after national bundle of licenses known as the "C block".  Google has stated they will bid at least the reserve price of $4.6 billion, but it isn't known if they would be willing to bid more.

There were several updates offered through various news outlets, but I found it easier to just go to the FCC's site and use their Bidding and Results system to get current information on the auctions.  After 4 days and 10 rounds of bidding the "C block" stands at $3.4 billion.

With Frontline Wireless out of the picture, the bid for the "D block" stands at $472 million made upon opening, but that is nowhere near the reserve price of $1.6 billion.  It is expected that whoever loses the bid for the "C block" may end up buying the "D block" as a consolation prize.  I'm looking forward to seeing what service offerings will result from these acquisitions.