AT&T granted approval to purchase spectrum from Qualcomm (USA)
Mobile network operator AT&T, has been granted regulatory approval to purchase wireless spectrum from Qualcomm. According to company reports, AT&T will purchase licences in the 700 MHz spectrum bandwidth, which is expected to provide coverage for over 300 million people. The transaction will cost the operator US$ 1.9 billion and is expected to be completed soon.
Reports reveal that Bob Quinn, Senior Vice President-Federal Regulatory, AT&T has said that this spectrum will help AT&T continue to deliver a world-class mobile broadband experience to their customers. He added that as spectrum is the lifeblood of the U.S. wireless industry, they are pleased that the FCC did not reduce the spectrum screen, however, they continue to believe any changes to the process by which it is allocated should be subject to open and transparent public discussion and clear to everyone with an interest in ensuring the health of the industry.
T-Mobile USA close to buying Clearwire spectrum
T-Mobile USA is reportedly close to buying wireless spectrum from Clearwire Corp.
According to reports, the deal could happen by the end of the first quarter and T-Mobile USA was the only potential bidder.
According to sources, the unit isn’t in a hurry to buy the spectrum and could negotiate an agreement more financially beneficial.
According to Clearwire spokesman Mike DiGioia, they continue to seek additional funding, but he wouldn’t comment on any discussions with T-Mobile.
Dutch telco KPN objects to 2.6GHz spectrum auction
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Injunction is prepared to be seeked by telecom operator Royal KPN against an upcoming Dutch wireless spectrum auction. As a reason the telco has revealed that it would allow market newcomers to acquire more spectrum than existing operators.
According to the telco, the country’s mobile market already has numerous mobile service providers, high quality services and relatively low prices.
The auction which was supposed to take place for 2.6GHz spectrum has already been delayed several times.
FCC to auction wireless spectrum in the USA
www.WirelessFederation.com/news A plan has been announced by the Federal Communication Commission as per which US mobile network operators will be able to bid for a prized segment of wireless spectrum for commercial use.
The auction is scheduled to take place early next year.
It has also been proposed by FCC that $12bn to $16bn will be set aside by the Congress over 10 years.
This will help support building a nationwide broadband wireless network for use by public safety workers.
Nextel Chile and VTR win 3G spectrum
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After winning 60MHz of the 3G spectrum in a closed tender, Nextel Chile has announced that it will invest USD300 million in the mobile network. VTR, a local cableco, an arm of Liberty Global and Nextel both submitted bids for three bands of 30MHz of 3G wireless spectrum. Nextel, offering USD14.6 million for the two bands was the highest bidder, while VTR will pay USD3 million for a single 30MHz band. The contracts are yet to be signed. Both the companies have twelve months to build their 3G networks and start offering services nationally.
Nextel and VTR will compete with Chile’s three main mobile telephone companies Entel PCS, Telefonica (Movistar) and America Movil (Claro), that already have the 3G spectrum.
T-Mobile Keeps Wireless Auction Lead
After more than three weeks of bidding, Deutsche Telekom‘s T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. cellular carrier, continues to have placed the biggest bet at the Federal Communications Commission’s wireless spectrum auction. T-Mobile has pledged $4.2 billion so far, while total bids from all parties have reached $13.7 billion. Initial estimates suggested the federal government may eventually bring in $15 billion for its airwave auction.
Both established wireless carriers–such as the nation’s largest, Cingular Wireless–and other bidders–like SpectrumCo, a coalition of the largest U.S. cable TV providers and Sprint Nextel (nyse: S – news – people )–are trying to buy 1,122 airspace licenses that would allow them to add new voice and data services or increase existing coverage areas. Faster data networks are favored by both e-mail-addicted businessmen and ringtone-crazy high school students. Still, data service only accounts for about 10% of today’s wireless bills.
No surprises here yet: Established carriers represent much of the leaderboard. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ – news – people ) and Vodafone (nyse: VOD – news – people ), is second with $2.8 billion in bids. SpectrumCo, representing Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA – news – people ), Time Warner‘s (nyse: TWX – news – people ) cable division, Cox Communications, Bright House and Sprint, is third, bidding $2.3 billion. Dallas-based regional carrier MetroPCS has $1.4 billion on the line for licenses covering the Northeast, Midwest and some Western states. And Cingular, owned by the merging AT&T (nyse: T – news – people ) and BellSouth (nyse: BLS – news – people ), rounds out the top five bidders with a $1.3 billion stake.
The FCC sped up the auction process this week, increasing the daily number of bidding rounds to six 30-minute sessions per day, up from four hour-long sessions. Most of the largest chunks of spectrum haven’t seen new bids in weeks. Verizon Wireless’ $1.3 billion bid for a slice of spectrum in the Northeast is the single largest bid. The second-largest single bid is a $894 million commitment from T-Mobile for a swath of airspace over the Western U.S.
In a note issued Thursday, Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins wrote that recent bidding activity could lead to increasing competition in urban markets, thank to carriers such as Leap Wireless and MetroPCS bidding on licenses that include several larger cities. Rollins also says greater spectrum buys from big, national carriers could also be a sign of more aggressive data network installations in urban markets. “Verizon is also actively bidding on urban spectrum, and is looking to build a larger spectrum position than we had previously anticipated,” he adds.
On Aug. 8, Sprint, already rich with spectrum after its merger with Nextel, announced plans for a nationwide “fourth-generation” data network, while most carriers (including Sprint and Verizon) are still putting finishing touches on third-gen networks (see: ” Sprint Boss Goes Next-Gen”).
While the current auction could still last a few more weeks, with bidding mostly on smaller, cheaper licenses, unsuccessful bidders need not fret: Another FCC auction, with 64 more wireless spectrum licenses, is scheduled to start Feb. 7, 2007. Winning bidders could use the spectrum for a range of services including wireless Internet or mobile voice and paging services.
Source- http://www.forbes.com
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