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2155MHz

spectrum auction

FCC Planning New Spectrum Auction With Free Broadband for All

It looks like the FCC is taking up Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's dopey scheme to deliver internet to the masses with another spectrum auction that would require the winner to offer free broadband to half of the US within four years, and 95 percent sometime after that. A nearly impossible task, on top of being silly in the first place, so don't expect anyone to volunteer to pay for the privilege. There's no set date for this proposed auction of 25MHz in the 2155 to 2180MHz range, but the FCC is planning to meet on June 16 to discuss the rules of the fail sale. [RCR Wireless News]

free wireless

Free Wireless Internet For the Masses: Another Dumb Scheme From Washington

A California congresswoman has proposed yet another spectrum auction—the 2,155MHz to 2,180MHz range—with some hefty public-service requirements:
• Within two years of receiving the license, launch an "always-on" broadband with at least 200Kbps downloads
• Service is to be free of subscription, airtime and other usage fees
• "A technology protection measure" that would keep kids from the porn
• Publication of specs and standards, royalty free, so that others can develop for the network
Let me get this straight: You want some well-heeled for-profit corporation to pay potentially billions for the privilege of hastily launching a network that it can't charge money for, and let competitors provide devices for it, again for no extra money? I don't think so. I'm not pro-corporation, so much as I am pro-reality. More »

google

Did Google "Game" the 700MHz Spectrum Auction? Yep!

Republican Congressmen Fred Upton, Cliff Stearns and John Shimkus are huffing and puffing that Google hosed the government in the ballyhooed 700MHz auction, only bidding to lock in the open access rules. They're right! Google totally "gamed the system" and had no interest in winning. But that's a good thing for us. If they hadn't, there probably wouldn't have been any open access rules, and it's very likely Verizon wouldn't be promising to open up their network to practically any device and service, which should spark real mobile innovation. Hurray for screwing the government! [Bloomberg]

verizon

Verizon's $9.36 Billion 700MHz Plans: High-Speed 4G LTE Network Up and Running Before AT&T

Not that it wasn't obvious, but Verizon's 700MHz plans look a lot like AT&T's. It'll be using the spectrum as the core of their high-speed 4G LTE network. Verizon paid $9.36 billion total, including $4.7 billion for the open access C Block (apparently, it let Google sweat a bit before actually plunking down their bid). Unlike AT&T, which said you won't see commercial deployment of LTE 'til 2012, Verizon's shooting for 2010. It also countered AT&T's claims that Verizon's spectrum sucks: "The breadth of the national C-block spectrum footprint, all in a single band and with a depth of 22 MHz, provides a speed and performance advantage." We'll know soon enough, you know, in like 10 bajillion years when the networks launch. More »

at&t

AT&T to Use 700MHz Spectrum for High-Speed 4G LTE Network

The mandatory period of silence for 700MHz auction participants is over, so AT&T is revealing what's up their sleeve for the prem-o slice of spectrum on a conference call. AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said that it'll give them more flexibility and bandwidth to handle surging demand for mobile broadband now and later; better coverage (like in buildings, thanks to the spectrum's sweet properties); and an "easier path to 4G technology," that being LTE (which Verizon is also in on). They'll primarily be using 700MHz for their LTE network, and since it's GSM based, 4G devices will be able to work in 2G and 3G areas. More »

wimax

Comcast and Time Warner To Launch WiMax Network, Asking Sprint to Run It?

Cable operators Comcast and Time Warner plan to gather up $1.5 billion to $2 billion in order to get their own WiMax network going, and it's said that they would turn to Sprint to run the show. Now, I don't know what part of this plan makes sense to anyone else, but A) WiMax as a wide-area network technology isn't looking as hot in practice as it did in theory, and B) Sprint doesn't seem to be capable of running its own operation, let alone someone else's multi-billion-dollar baby. One thing is for sure, this move by the cable titans shows, like Dish Network's recent acquisition of some 700MHz spectrum, that everybody wants a piece of the wireless pie, even if they don't know exactly what to do with it. [AP]

storage

Fujitsu's 7200rpm 2.5-Inch Drives First to Hit 320GB

Today, Fujitsu introduced its MHZ2 BJ drives (heh, heh...BJ), the first 2.5" 7200rpm hard drives to reach the 320GB capacity. They'll be available at the end of June, for an as-yet unannounced price, and will support the SATA 3Gbps interface. So now when go trick out your laptop, you're gonna have a full-on headache trying to decide between maximum HDD spin speed, maximum capacity—at this point 500GB at 5400rpm— and of course the higher-priced SSD alternatives. [Press Release]

700mhz

Dish's Surprise 700MHz Win Means What?

Dish Networks, sat TV provider, has won a block of the 700MHz band in the FCC's recent auction. Given Dish's primary business is television from the heavens, one has to wonder what they're up to. At first, I thought internet, as DirecTV has. But the analysts say that the tiny corner of the band that Dish bought is actually not suitable for 2-way communication, and is better for broadcast. Maybe they're planning to pipe their channels over the airwaves. That could be useful in portables. [Yahoo]

breaking

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]

speculation

Verizon Hints They've Won the 700MHz Auction

Kicking off their Open Development Conference, the first thing Verizon did was throw up a massive disclaimer about the FCC's anti-collusion rule on the 700MHz auction, which prevents them from talking about their bid. The presenter's smirk and chit-chat about the disclaimer definitely seems to imply they won at least something at the auction. Update: At the end of the ODC keynote, Verizon's CEO name-checks the 700MHz band as somewhere they saw a great potential for innovation. Safe to assume they got some piece of that action.

700mhz auction

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 »

wcdma handsets

LG First Off the Blocks with Combo 3G Phones That Do CDMA and GSM

LG has produced two 3G handsets, the KM560 and the KP330, that support all three WCDMA bands and GSM bands, too. The cellphones are compatible in 220 countries, meaning that global roaming just got that bit easier. Both the KM560 and KP330 will be available in the second half of 2008 in selected countries, before they are rolled out throughout the rest of the world. [Korean NewsWire]

700mhz auction

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]

700mhz auction

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 »

700mhz auction

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.

wireless

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.

Don't know what the hell we're talking about? No worries, scan our ultimate guide to the 700MHz auction and why you should care about it. [FCC]

cellphones

Mobile Phones (Not Bitch Ex-Wife, Damn Kids, Idiot Boss) Cause Insomnia

Extensive studies conducted by universities in the US and Sweden show that a certain dose of radio frequency before bedtime causes insomnia. While there is plenty of number crunching yet to come to determine the exact relationships between exposure to 884MHz RF and loss of sleep, the key message from one of the scientists was this: "If you feel you have trouble sleeping, you should think about not talking on a mobile phone right before you go to bed." More »

700mhz auction

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]