breaking
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
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]
wireless
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]
700mhz auction
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]
the ultimate 700mhz auction guide
You've probably seen the phrase
"700MHz auction" bouncing around these pages quite a bit lately. Some of you know too much for your own good about this, but surely many readers are ashamed to admit you don't know what it means. It's okay, we get frazzled at times, too, so we thought we'd take a moment to explain what it means, why it matters, and what companies, at last check, were actually sitting at this FCC-run billionaire's poker table.
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speculation
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.
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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]
wireless
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.
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wireless
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 »
combat
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.
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Gizmodo
