A U.S. appeals court Thursday rejected a plea to delay the Advanced Wireless Services auction, opening the way for the start of bidding on the 1100 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz licenses on Aug. 9.

Council Tree Communications and other small carriers and organizations classified as designated entities eligible for auction discounts have challenged the FCC’s overhaul of the requirements for achieving designated entity status. In past auctions carriers have been investing in the designated entities in order to gain access to premium spectrum at a far cheaper price. The FCC has set much stricter rules on how DEs can partner with other carriers and how long they must hold their licenses before selling them off.

Council Tree, however, argued that the rule changes hurt legitimate competitive businesses by limiting their ability to get financing for an auction that may raise upwards of $8 billion. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3^rd Circuit found that there Council Tree and other petitioners did not make a convincing case that they would be irreparably harmed if the auction went forward. In fact, the court pointed out that the majority of the original applicants for the auction are now eligible for DE status, demonstrating that the rules are not overly restrictive.