FCC 700MHz Auction Winners: Verizon Wins C Block

Just as we had suspected all along, Verizon has officially won the open access C block of the 700MHz spectrum. AT&T walked away with a nice-sized chunk, too—227 regional licenses that'll nicely patch up the holes not covered by the huge swath they bought from Aloha Partners last year. The 700MHz band is spectacularly suited for use as a wireless broadband network—perfect for Verizon and AT&T's upcoming 4G networks, both of which are LTE-based. For more details, check our handy-dandy 700MHz auction guide, which tells you everything you need to know. [Reuters, Thanks Yoshi]

700MHz Auction Ends, Rakes in $19.5 Billion for Uncle Sam

Even though we had the winner of the almighty C block pegged well over a month ago, the 700MHz spectrum auction just ended today, bringing in $19.5 billion for the feds. We'll know who officially won what in about 10 days. More »

Analysts Say Ring the Bell, Verizon Set to Win 700MHz Auction

It's been our hunch all along that Verizon would take all in the 700MHz spectrum auction, but analysts are now confirming our suspicions from the other day: Verizon is set to win the most hotly desired slice of airwaves in the country, which can be used for anything from an entirely new mobile broadband service to boosting their current data setup. Whatever they do with it, they've gotta keep it open. [Forbes]

Juicy 700MHz Auction Developments: Google Punked Out?

While the hot and heavy 700MHz a(u)ction is anonymously taking place behind closed doors, we do know a couple of big things have happened. That potential winning bid from Thursday was punked down by a surprise total bid of $4.74 billion. This is juicy because it indicates Google has probably been outbid—assuming it was the party that pushed the bid past the $4.6 billion open access reserve, as it had promised—most likely by Verizon, using some slightly complicated rule shuffling with the regional licenses comprising the block. More »

Potential Winning Bid in 700MHz Spectrum Auction

The fight for the 700MHz spectrum has reached a milestone: an anonymous bidder has made a $4.7 billion offer, surpassing the minimum reserve price of $4.6 billion.

Rev Your Engines, FCC 700MHz Spectrum Auction Starts Today

Going once, going twice, sold to Verizon! Or something like that. The FCC's 700MHz spectrum auction starts today, and you can watch all of the hot bidding action right here. It's auction 73, and the page is so exciting I nearly peed my pants. More »

All Systems Go: 700MHz Auction Rules and Bidders Stamped in Stone

I know I'm a geek because I'm almost as giddy for this as I am for MacWorld: The rules and bidders (214 of 'em) for 700Mhz spectrum auction, which starts on Jan. 24, have been finalized. No surprises here—the heavies like AT&T, Verizon and Google have their shit in order and the C block fireworks look good to go. [Ars]

Comcast and Time Warner Out of 700MHz Auction: So Who's In?

Comcast and Time Warner have just declared their total disinterest in the upcoming 700MHz auction. Not that they mattered anyway—the real behind-closed-doors fireworks looked to be between Google and Verizon, who've been publicly sparring over the auction rules for a while. But that might not be the case. More »

Google Going It Alone in Wireless Spectrum Auction to Open Own Wireless Network

The Wall Street Journal details a lot of the "strong signals" Google's going to bid in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction in order to launch a wireless network of its own. Aside from openly declaring "we are making all the necessary preparations to become an applicant to bid," what's really compelling is that

back at its headquarters, Google is already operating an advanced high-speed wireless network under a test license from the FCC, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has erected transmission towers on its campus for the network. Prototype mobile handsets powered by the Android software are currently running on it.

More »

Verizon's decided to put away the lawsuit it filed against the FCC over the open access rules governing a chunk of the 700Mhz spectrum up for auction, which were recently re-affirmed—again, not for lack of trying on Verizon's part. [Ars]

Guess Microsoft doesn't have to compete with Google on everything after all. At CTIA, Steve Ballmer flatly declared Microsoft won't be joining the already crowded FCC spectrum auction party, since Microsoft has a "core competence ... and the telecom industry has a core competence." [Gadget Lab]

Ubiquiti Announces First 700Mhz Mini-PCI Wireless Card

Ubiquiti Networks has come out with the "world's first" wireless card specifically designed for the hotly desired and discussed 700Mhz band everyone's scrambling to get a piece of. The XtremeRange7 uses the 32-bit mini-PCI Type IIIA standard and sports a ridiculous output power of 600 mW (your dinky home router's probably putting out 28mW), which Ubiquiti claims gives it a tested antenna-dependent outdoor range of over 50 km, perfect for picking up wireless broadband provided by future (or current) licensees of the 700Mhz band. More »

FCC Keeps Open Access Provisions for 700Mhz Auction, Delays It

Looks like Verizon's alleged backdoor wheeling-and-dealing was for naught, as the FCC's basically reaffirmed the open access provisions on the "C" chunk of the 700Mhz spectrum up for auction in what looks to be the actual final set of bidding rules. This should effectively end the ongoing back-and-forth venom-spitting between Verizon and Google, at least about the rules themselves. More »

Google Calls Out Verizon for Trying to "Water Down" Wireless Spectrum Open-Access Rules

Google's beating the drum about the FCC's 700mhz auction rules again—or rather, Verizon's persistent efforts to undercut them. In the latest post on their public policy blog, Google calls out Verizon for trying to "water down" the rules in closed-door meetings, specifically two regarding open devices and open apps, saying they shouldn't apply to a licensee's own devices—in other words, if Verizon wins they want to be able to continue locking down their wares like Fort Knox, probably in gaudy red fare. More »