FCC auction bidders named

Google may be grabbing the spotlight in the upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum, but it's not the only nontraditional player that wants a valuable piece of the airwaves.

The Federal Communications late Tuesday released the names of applicants that plan to bid in the much-anticipated January auction, and Google competitors may include cable operator Cablevision, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, and satellite TV provider EchoStar.

That Google was among the 266 companies filing an application by the December 3 deadline was no surprise. Google said earlier this year that it was willing to put up at least $4.6 billion for licenses in the "C" block of spectrum--a chunk that Verizon and others would like to get their hands on.

Also throwing its hat into the auction ring is Vulcan Spectrum, a venture led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

It's difficult to predict which companies will actually get licenses, especially with big phone companies AT&T and Verizon Wireless also planning to bid. The auction, which begins on January 24, is expected to take several weeks. And the licenses will be split into several different blocks. Due to FCC rules, there is no information available about which blocks of spectrum bidders are considering or how much money they are committing to the process.

While Google is definitely a company to watch during the auction, I also think it's worth keeping an eye on what some of these other nontraditional players might do.

Qualcomm's participation, for example, is particularly interesting, given that the company already owns a substantial amount of 700MHz spectrum. A few years ago, Qualcomm quietly procured a swath of nationwide 700MHz spectrum that uses the analog TV channel 55. It has used this spectrum to build its own mobile video broadcast network using a technology it calls MediaFlo. The network has been built and is run by a subsidiary of Qualcomm's known as MediaFlo USA.

Qualcomm has not said yet what it plans to do with the additional 700MHz spectrum, but my guess is that it wants to increase network capacity or its network footprint. Right now, this may not be a huge threat to the phone companies. AT&T and Verizon are using the MediaFlo network to deliver live TV to cellular subscribers. But if Qualcomm manages to get more spectrum, it could start to look more like a rival than a partner.

As for Cablevision and EchoStar, these companies are likely looking to use the spectrum to develop services that could compete with the phone companies. The two largest cable operators in the country, Comcast and Time Warner, combined forces in the last big spectrum auction in 2006. These companies, under the name SpectrumCo, managed to acquire 137 wireless spectrum licenses. But so far the companies have not said what they plan to do with all the capacity. The companies that make up SpectrumCo also have a deal with Sprint Nextel to offer wireless service to their customers.

Comcast and Time Warner said earlier this month that they would not be bidding in the 700MHz auction.

All bidders are required to make some kind of initial payment to the FCC before January 4 to make them eligible to bid. But simply putting up the initial capital does not guarantee that any of these companies will come out with any licenses in the spectrum auction. In fact, many companies will drop out of the auction. In the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction in 2006, EchoStar, which had partnered with DirecTV, dropped out in one of the early rounds.

At this point it's really anyone's game. Currently, more than half the potential bidders, including AT&T and Verizon, have incomplete applications. These bidders have until January 4, 2008, to complete their paperwork in order to participate in the auction.

[suyts2]

Lots of names

lots of money. This should be interesting.

[chash360]

Beginning of the end, again...

Inspite of hundreds of papers and reccomendations, the FCC is wringing its hands, in anticipation of huge bids for spectrum. Nevermind this finite, limited resource belongs to all of us, and should be managed in a cost effective way that will benefit everyone. No, it gets sold to the highest bidder. Which in turn will get sold to the consumer, obscenely inflated, to line big telco pockets, and invent new ways to gouge us. And again their will be no freedom on the airwaves. No interactive communication (unless you pay through the nose for it), ensuring the only free communication is the major media propoganda machine, spewing out their garbage, with there ears and eyes firmly closed to the public. We complain about our politicians and leaders but we will not get better politicians and leaders until the communication system in this country is freed from massive corperate control. The Internet could have almost achieved this but the corperate interests got involved, and have worked desparately against this free interactive comminication system, and will continue to do so using familiar tactics (pornography, terrorism, etc.) A nation wide wireless internet infrastructure could achieve truly free communication (minimal network medium/wires to maintain) because devices provide the service, not some people or company. There could be just 1 degree of separation from content consumer to content provider, eliminating the useless middle-man role of an ISP. How long will the American public have to pay, and pay, and pay to have use of this spectrum. Make no mistake the 700MHz spectrum was ideal for making a nation wide wireless Internet infrastructure, and if sold, you will have to pay to use it, thats how they keep control. If it were free, then poor people might have a voice, which is bad for corrupt politics. This was our last chance at free communication, again they go down the dark path, and forever will it rule all of our destinii...What propoganda will they broadcast across the country next time, another 9/11, call to war for more oil? What news will they suppress?, clean cheap energy?, evidence of political corruption?, administrative treason? or just the truth about their lies? Public support is bought and sold with airwaves, and media propoganda, until we change the system, you can be certain of only one truth: it was paid for with your hard earned dollars. FYI: when they start to shut down the citizens band, and ameteur HAM Radio bands, expect martial law to soon follow, these were some of the first and last unliscensed long distance communication bands that are free to use.

Free the Airwaves! Free the People!

[shygeek]

RE: Beginning of The End, Again

I disagree with chash360 only on one point, that
the airwaves do not belong to the public at large.
They belong to and are controlled by the FCC with
the blessing of the Feds. This is why radio and
tv channels are bought and sold at will by large
conglomerates for obscene amounts of money and do
not have to address the needs of the public.
This is why in February of 2009 analog tv will
no longer exist and one must buy a converter box
to access over the air broadcasts. And I could go
on and on but I'm sure you see the point I am
trying to make. Realize that radio and tv stations
are owned by just a handfull of companies and why
must one subscribe to satellite or cable to get
a wide variety of programming because all the
regular channels carry are "judge" shows, "baby's
daddy" shows, and supposedly "reality" shows, along with "talk" shows. Like chash360 wrote,
the channels/spectrum are available to the highest
bidder and the public-be-dammed, and there really
isn't anything we can do about it.
Years ago then FCC Chairman Newton Minnow call tv
"a vast wasteland". And to this day that perception has not changed.

[Quemannn]

If Google wins "C" block

If Google wins, we will see a sea change in the mobile world. If not, we will be stuck in 2.5G.