The FCC, in turn, confiscated the licenses and re-sold them to Verizon Wireless and the subsidiaries of AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless, among others, for $17 billion in an auction that ended in January 2001.
The FCC confiscated the licenses from their original owners and then sold them to other companies like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular Wireless during an auction held in January 2001 for a total of $17 billion.