Browse by Tags

Filed under: Misc Though the final paycheck to the US government will almost certainly far exceed that going to Ottawa when bidding closes, here's an interesting little stat: the companies involved in Canada's ongoing AWS auction will be paying far more per megahertz per covered resident. The total value of the bidding is now up around $3.16 billion CAD (about $3.11 billion), and even back when it was hovering in the mid-$2 billion CAD range, that put the per-resident valuation up over 80 cents -- far more than 54 cents paid when the action closed in the US back in 2006. Helping to drive up those numbers are Rogers and Telus, who are reaching deep into their respective wallets to pony up serious cash for the fresh spectrum. Don't you feel loved, Canadians? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: ATT The FCC has just lifted its gag order on the gory details of the 700MHz Auction 73 , and AT&T wasted absolutely no time setting up a press conference to discuss how it was planning to utilize its win in the so-called B Block. Bottom line: AT&T's moving to LTE for its 4G infrastructure -- no surprise there, since it's the natural evolution for GSM carriers -- and the purchase is designed to support that build-out. As they've said before , they're tooting their horn over the fact that the B Block action combined with the Aloha spectrum purchase gives the carrier 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the top 200 US markets, while also noting that the frequency range is stellar at breaking through walls for hot in-building coverage. As for Verizon's C Block win -- the block touted for its open access clause -- AT&T's convinced that the B Block made more sense for the very reason that it lacked those regulatory restrictions. The lack of FCC oversight is cause for some concern, yes, but AT&T continues to stress that it was "open" long before the whole C Block hullaballoo came along by virtue of the fact that any GSM device with the right bands can hop on its network. In terms of timing, the company's not really in any hurry; it wants to continue to milk HSPA for everything it's worth, promising a 7.2Mbps downlink rollout through 2009, and realistically, we'll be well into the next decade before we see wide-scale use of 700MHz LTE around these parts. A little scary for the impatient among us, we've gotta say. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Features , Misc Win or lose, all the bidders wrapped up in the so-called Auction 73 for precious spectrum in the 700MHz band are still under tight FCC-imposed gag orders in an effort to stem any funny business, but it looks like they're at least ready to come out and dip their toes into the PR waters. Verizon, the biggest winner having claimed the big, wide Block C prize, says that it's "pleased with [its] auction results" (we should certainly hope so), that the new airwaves will help it maintain its "reputation as the nation's most reliable wireless network," and that they're now better positioned to lead the way with new services and devices. The megacarrier goes on to boast about the fact that its winning bids score it massive 298 million person footprint, plus another 171 million worth of licenses in different Blocks. Meanwhile, AT&T seems happy with its purchase, too -- but then again, it's not like any of these companies would be issuing immediate statements expressing buyer's remorse, we guess. The number one US carrier by subscribers reports that its newly acquired licenses, in combination with spectrum snatched from Aloha Partners earlier this year, now gives it 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the nation's top 200 markets, with "quality spectrum" (whatever that means) covering 95 percent of the American populace. For what it's worth, AT&T's Auction 73 purchases were in Block B, which has moderately less bandwidth than Verizon's Block C win -- but as they say, it's not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it's the motion of the frequencies, so we'll have to wait to see how these guys actually use these licenses before we rush to any conclusions. Finally, from its brief statement, Google appears to have gotten exactly what it wanted : nothing at all. The company says that Auction 73 "produced a major victory for American consumers" because Block...

Filed under: Misc Hear that? Yeah, that's the fat lady -- the 700MHz auction is over today, and the FCC netted $19.6B for the 1,099 licenses it put on the block. It's still not known who placed the winning $4.75B bid for the lucrative open-access 50-state C-block ( probably Verizon ) but hopefully we'll find out soon. There was a ton of regional action as well: a package of licenses for spectrum in Chicago went for $892.4M, another set for Newark and NYC went for $884.7M, and LA's two sets of 700MHz airwaves cost some lucky punter giant corporation $580.3M and $484M -- and if you'd scraped together $17K, you would be the king of the airwaves in American Samoa. Sadly, no one met the reserve for the public-safety D-block , so it looks like Uncle Sam's going to have to toss it in the back of the van and schlep it the old fashioned way. We doubt we'll know for sure who's got what until the gray suits manage to verify everything and make sure all the rules were followed, but it's still an historic day -- and remember, we've got all the info on what this could mean in the future right here . [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Features Feeling frightened, confused, or tingly due to all this 700MHz auction talk and its "open access" rules? Truck on over to Engadget classic and get the full rundown on what you need to know. Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Features , Misc Alright, alright, everyone calm down -- yes, today marks the beginning of 2008's Super Bowl of wireless spectrum auctions, but unfortunately, there won't be much to see. No 24-hour television coverage of the intense action, no live webcams of the FCC's wacky, wild, no-holds-barred trading floors; heck, not even an official update from the Commish or any of the bidders. Why's that? Glad you asked. Let us quickly break down what the auction's all about and what it means to you: The auction, known officially as Auction 73, is made possible by the move from analog to digital television, which frees swaths of bandwidth in the 700MHz range. This represents one of the last frontiers of nationwide RF spectrum that is expected to be available and practical for consumer use any time soon, which has generated intense interest and even more intense scrutiny. In an effort to stem collusion, the FCC is being extremely secretive about the applicants for bidding, saying only that there is a total of 214 bidders involved. They've also told bidders that they aren't allowed to publicly disclose anything about the auction or their bids before the auction's over, lest they forfeit the whole shebang. We do know that AT&T, Verizon, Cox, and most famously, Google are all committed to bidding. Auction 73 is broken into a total of five "blocks." Block C is by far the most coveted of the five because it contains the most bandwidth -- 22MHz in total, broken into two 11MHz pairs -- and also because it consists of fewer regions, making it easier to assemble a contiguous, nationwide network. Blocks A, B, and D should see some action, too, while Block E is the redheaded stepchild of the bunch with only one 6MHz piece of spectrum to its name. The FCC has ordered that the winner of the Block C auction must commit to creating an open-access network , meaning any device capable of supporting the appropriate protocols must be allowed...