TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Bidding for Paging Licenses Still Rising: Defying most predictions, the government’s first auction for public airwaves completed its fourth day, with bidders raising the ante to nearly $610 million. At least 10 companies are still in the running to win 10 nationwide licenses to offer an array of advanced wireless communications services, including two-way paging and messaging, on a nationwide basis. Anxious to bring the hammer down, the Federal Communications Commission, which is holding the auction, has quickened the pace of the bidding. Bids for the most coveted licenses shot up to a range of $77 million to $80 million.