FCC . . . WIRELESS AUCTION WINNERS

Winding up the latest stage of the largest-everfederal auction of the airwaves, the FCC today announced winners of 30 regional licenses to offer powerful wireless services, such as two-way paging, messaging and faxing. Eleven of the winning bids -- which hand the federal government more than $490 million -- came from minority or women-owned firms. (After those companies receive credits, the government haul drops to $394 million, the FCC said.) The auction, which had six companies competing per region, was designed to produce winners ready to offer consumers increased competition and lower prices, unlike the two-firm limit in current cellular markets. Next (and last) up: On Dec. 5, 74 companies -- including heavy hitters like AT&T, Sprint, TCI and Comcast -- bid for another 99 licenses covering 51 regions.Post your opinion on theNew Mediabulletin board.