The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has cleared the way for the government's Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction. The sale is scheduled to begin on August 9th. Three groups were lobbying for the auction to be delayed until new rules concerning the participation of designated entities could be appealed. The FCC made it more difficult for small companies to buy spectrum for larger firms.
Since the small companies get a 25% discount, major carriers in the US would use them as a broker to get a discount. The auction is expected to raise as much as $15 billion. T-Mobile USA is expected to be a big buyer.