Airwaves Auction May Raise $20 Billion

AIRWAVES AUCTION MAY RAISE $20 BILLION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
The wireless future goes on sale today when the federal government puts a huge swath of radio-wave spectrum on the auction block. With the use of cellular telephones and other wireless gadgets booming, the invisible bands of spectrum that serve as the nation's data highways are getting overloaded. Putting valuable frequencies now used by the Pentagon and other agencies to commercial use is expected to help cellular phone carriers as well as cable and satellite TV providers expand their services. One of the largest spectrum auctions ever, the sale could bring as much as $20 billion into federal coffers that could be used to offset the nation's budget deficit. The sale, which combined with another auction planned for early 2008, would nearly double the amount of bandwidth available for advanced wireless devices in the United States. It also promises to jump start the spectrum land-rush for the next generation of wireless services. Known as 3G, for third generation, the technology can enable cellphones to access e-mail, music and video content at high speeds.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-spectrum9aug09,1,4885...
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