|
August 9, 2006 Let
the bidding begin. Wednesday
morning, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opens its advanced
wireless services (AWS) auction with hopes of bagging as much as $15 billion
from cell phone providers, cable companies, satellite broadcasters and outright
speculators. Given
the explosive demand for spectrum to deliver wireless video and broadband
services, the FCC might well hit its target. In
all, the FCC will put up for auction 1,122 AWS licenses in the 1710-1755 MHz
and 2110-2155 MHz bands. The spectrum was previously occupied by the Department
of Defense. The
country's dominant cell phone providers -- Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and
Cingular -- certainly all want a piece of the action and are expected to be
major players in the auction, which may last up to a month or longer. The
Big Three will likely face fierce bidding from T-Mobile, the nation's number
four cell phone provider. A unit of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA currently
lacks the capacity to provision mobile broadband. Cable
giants Comcast, Time Warner and Cox also figure into the equation as they seek
to add wireless phone service to their popular bundles of television, telephone
and broadband. Satellite
television providers DirecTV and EchoStar are also expected to make a serious
splash in the bidding as they increasingly feel the pinch from bundled cable
offers. DirecTV
and EchoStar, fierce competitors on any given day, are so serious about
grabbing some spectrum for broadband services they formed a partnership known
as Wireless DBS and dropped a $972.5 million check on the FCC to guarantee
their bidding spot. Comcast
is also playing the combination game, joining with Sprint Nextel to put up
$637.9 million to grab a spot in the auction queue. Adding
to the mix are speculators such as Wall Street money manager Mario Gabelli, who
last month paid a $130 million fine to
settle civil litigation charges he rigged a few bids in a previous FCC spectrum
auction. According
to the Department of Justice (DoJ) complaint, the FCC established rules for
certain auctions that permitted only "small" or "very
small" businesses to participate or to qualify for bidding credits and
favorable financing. The
DoJ said although Gabelli and his affiliated companies did not qualify for
these auctions, he nevertheless masterminded a scheme to participate in the
wireless auctions. Despite
the fine, Gabelli and his affiliates qualified for this FCC spectrum auction. For
the losers of the complex process, hope awaits in 2008, when the FCC is
expected to auction off the spectrum being deserted by television broadcasters
moving to digital broadcasting. That
auction is expected to shatter this month's expected record proceeds, since the
spectrum previously used by the broadcasters can penetrate through mountains
and dense urban areas. Respectively Rick Harnish President OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. 260-827-2482 Founding Member of WISPA |
-- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
