20 MHz of spectrum available to auction nation-wide. This is NOT enough spectrum for a wireless data business case, regardless of the technology used (unless you believe all spec sheets). The action will be at 2.5 GHz where there is nearly 200 MHz available, and mostly held by Sprint and Clearwire.
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20mhz @ 700MHz actually can have more usable channels than WiFi for example @ 2.4GHz.

The ~100MHz that WiFi resides in only really provides 11-14 channels depending on the RF unit you use. That includes a little bit of overlap between center frequency of the channels. It comes out to about 10MHz per channel. The higher the frequency, the wider the channels need to be.

At 700mhz, high speed data could actually use much less spectrum to provide the same or more channels for use.

Hyperial

murfi

Ok, selling our spectrum will generate enough revenue to sustain the war in Iraq for another two months. We should also sell off the National Parks to sustain the war for an additional month or two. The coastal waters could be more efficiently allocated; I can see a business model that would have surfers paying $10 per hour and boaters $50 per hour. KBR shareholders would be quite pleased.

whootowl

Darkest Daze

I see no reason why the wireless spectrum shouldn't be auctioned off. There is a limited quantity of it, much like many other resources (see: land), but a one time auction can efficiently allocate it (see: Paul Klemperor, The Economic Theory of Auctions) and it becomes a resource that can later be bought and sold.

I can't see any company wanting to build a business model around a wireless spectrum lease, as you have no guarantee that they won't later revoke your rights to use it.

robo

whootowl

It would be nice to see Apple & Google work together given both companies having a business model that is more aligned with consumer demands than most... though I have to admit that I prefer Apple as the underdog in some ways, since it forces the company to stay on their toes.
...
Think of it this way - would Intel, AT&T, Microsoft, or IBM offer a $100 'store credit' to customers ticked about a price drop? I would expect a PR finessed response better than "it happens", and no offer of compensation.

freelunch

RoCKSTaH226

All these auctions do is lock out the smaller independent players, and shaft the "winner" with billions of dollars spent that now have to be recouped from the consumer's pocket.

It's a great racket, the government get billions for selling access to property it doesn't own, and we as consumers end up paying for it. Hell, just tax us directly and be done with it.

ghmlco

flipped4gizmos

king_of_fools

mynameisjoe

DomZ

Scroll down the front page... a little more... there you go. Giz did write on the AMD chip see the title "AMD Launch Quad-Core Opteron a.k.a. Barcelona" looks like you'll have to find something else to bitch about :(

dwight-schrute

Alienware doesn't have a dual-Barcelona workstation for sale let. Lame!

fmccb

BigRob673

your comment proves the point. Apple is smaller and run by an individual. The larger company's may be too big and bureacratic to accomplish the nimble manuevers necessary to get this type of new venture off the ground.

mtopper

BigRob673

I think Mixiboi meant that the spectrum cost is just the first cost any company will incur. Building a network (and a business) will cost considerably more

mtopper

The companies with the most to gain / lose / protect in this list are Time Warner and Comcast. Expect them to bid as a consortium (possibly with Google as a technology partner).

mtopper

Today AMD release their new Opteron yet NOT one word about it. Come on guys, I expect better from you.

Blue_Mountain

Geisrud

Geisrud

General Electric
Verizon Communications
Dell
AT&T
Time Warner
Microsoft
Intel
Comcast
Staples
Whirlpool

What Staples or Whirlpool would want with the wireless spectrum I don't know.

baltwade

And, yeah, they have a ton o' cash just sitting in the bank, waiting to be used for something.

tetzel1517

Brock

Mark Wilson

Remember 9 Billion is just the starting price...

Mixiboi

Doesn't Apple have something like $14 billion in cash reserves stowed away for a rainy day?

RoyalKennebecasisAdventurersSociety

Expected to sell for around $9 billion, most say Apple has the liquidity to make the purchase-even amongst competition like Google.

baltwade

krugorg

ctfoley

Giving shit to you for free is in no way efficient for anyone, except for you.

robo

arpan

That said, I'd like to see Apple take a shot at this. Apple stuff costs extra, but they work better and I'm willing to pay an "Apple tax" every year to have my stuff work well together.

TallManNY

QWERTYthon

mynameisjoe

And then I'll farm it out to 3rd party contractors for one million dollars!!!

Geisrud