Licensed spectrum remains the lifeblood of the cellular industry. But which companies actually own all those spectrum licenses? More importantly, which spectrum licenses do they own, how much did they pay for them, and where is the market heading?  

This report aims to answer these questions.

FierceWireless collected the below charts from a variety of sources including spectrum management companies, Wall Street analyst firms and boutique analysis companies such as Allnet Insights & Analytics. Their goal is to provide an overview of licensed spectrum ownership in the United States ranging from low-band licenses like 600 MHz to high-band holdings up to 40 GHz.

Indeed, such information is becoming increasingly critical for an industry heading toward its first ever millimeter-wave spectrum auction as well as the pending launch of commercial 5G services.