FCC's Airwaves Auction May Fail to Lure Bidders

FCC'S AIRWAVES AUCTION MAY FAIL TO LURE BIDDERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com]
Federal regulators' bet that companies would leap at the chance to buy heavily discounted airwaves in an auction may be collapsing less than two weeks before the auction begins. Federal Communications Commission officials are hoping for the best, noting that big carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless could potentially bid for the discounted airwaves, which include conditions requiring the winner to share its wireless network with emergency responders. But the recent demise of the most likely new bidder, start-up Frontline Wireless, which pushed for the nationwide license, means that the likelihood of a new national wireless competitor has dropped. Yesterday, the FCC said 214 bidders have qualified for the auction, which is expected to raise at least $10 billion. Google Inc. and big wireless companies including AT&T will likely focus on larger regional blocks, which could be put together to form a national wireless network. Less than two weeks from the auction's Jan. 24 start, however, there may be no white knight coming to claim the discounted airwaves. The deadline to apply for the auction closed well before word of Frontline's shuttering became known. If the $1.33 billion reserve price isn't met, FCC officials could be put into the uncomfortable place of re-auctioning the spectrum, possibly without some or all of the stringent conditions that it has imposed on the airwaves.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120036850221290545.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

* FCC notice
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission announced that there are 214 eligible bidders for the auction of 700 MHz Band licenses scheduled for Thursday January 24.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-83A1.doc
* Qualified bidders
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-83A2.pdf
* A list of all who applied to be bidders
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-08-83A3.pdf

* FCC Unveils 700mHz Spectrum Bidders
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6522650.html
* 214 bidders are cleared for U.S. airwave auction
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-airwaves15jan15,1,582...