Verizon the big winner in spectrum auction

By Michal Lev-Ram

The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that Verizon Wireless was the biggest winner in the recently-closed government auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum.

FCC records show that Verizon bid an estimated $9.5 billion for the airwaves, which will become available next year and are well-suited for broadband services.

The company won the majority of large licenses in the coveted C block of the spectrum, in addition to a significant number of smaller licenses in the A and B blocks. A total of five blocks of spectrum were up for bid and the FCC took in $19.6 billion in the auction.

In a statement issued Thursday, Verizon (VZ) said it was “very pleased” with the results of the auction and that the new spectrum would help “grow our business and data revenues.”

AT&T (T) won 227 small licenses and said that, combined with airwaves the company purchased earlier this year from a Providence, Rhode Island-based company called Aloha Partners, its 700MHz spectrum will now cover 200 top U.S. markets.

Google (GOOG), however, didn’t win any licenses. Last year the search giant said it would put up the minimum bid for the C block portion of spectrum to ensure the success of a FCC requirement that the new network be open to any mobile device and not just those sanctioned by the carrier.

But one newcomer did manage to make the cut — satellite television provider Dish Network (DISH) won enough licenses to provide a nearly nationwide network. According to Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet, it’s likely the company will use the spectrum to roll out a mobile video service.

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Filed under Google, Spectrum, Verizon, fcc

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“we’re stuck with old stuffy companies who will charge us ungodly amounts to use the bandwidth”

I disagree. The big cell phone companies will give alternatives to cable companies. Especially with Verizon going with LTE/4G in the coming years, this bid is great for the consumers. I dumped Comcast and just use a Verizon Wireless aircard (Rev A). Now I have broadband where ever I go for the same price. In a few years by upgrading to a 4G aircard we will enjoy download speeds of 75+ MB/s and upload speeds of 25+ MB/s – faster then cable broadband.

Posted By Andy, Portland OR : March 22, 2008 2:38 pm

What a waste.. I’m pretty disappointed in Google for not stepping up to the plate. They had what seemed like a really people-centric plan, and instead, we’re stuck with old stuffy companies who will charge us ungodly amounts to use the bandwidth. WHat happened Google?

Posted By Chad, Seattle Washington : March 20, 2008 7:18 pm

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