AWS-3 wireless spectrum auction questions/impact

This is more directed toward Wendell if you guys have time to cover it.

I don't care about how the system is clearly flawed, and the little guy receives the short end of the stick etc etc. I'm more interested in the overall direction the industry is heading and realistic viable future options for the industry as a whole.

The recent AWS-3 (1700-2100MHz) wireless spectrum auction that ended on 1/29/2015 generated roughly $45 billion before accounting for Dish Networks greasy Designated Entity maneuvering.

The previous auction in 2008 raised $19 billion for the more favorable TV broadcast 700MHz spectrum (the current base of carriers 4G LTE offerings today).

Something I read in the WSJ that stood out to me was, Verizon sold $15 billion in cell towers and portions of its wireline business in order to finance the new spectrum acquisition.

 

So my question is two parts.

1.) Is this crazy bidding war essentially a 21st century land grab, where the wireless/satellite companies are treating spectrum as a finite resource they will be able to leverage down the road? (They can supposedly lease spectrum to other providers)

2.) What do you envision as a viable future option/options to expand coverage of current wireless networks? Covering the gaps with wifi hotspots makes sense but seems to pose a number of new issues (security, range, interference etc.).

Thanks in advance fellas,

Reed