Top bids $2.78 bln as US wireless auction opens

TOP BIDS $2.78 BLN AS US WIRELESS AUCTION OPENS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
Top bidders put up a total of almost $2.78 billion on Thursday in the opening rounds of the Federal Communications Commission's auction of coveted U.S. government-owned airwaves. The figure represents the highest bids received for five separate blocks of spectrum at the beginning of the auction, which is eventually expected to net the federal government at least $10 billion. The $2.78 billion worth of opening high bids included a $472 million offer for a closely watched block of spectrum, known as the "D" block, which will have to be shared with public safety agencies under FCC rules. It also included an opening high bid of about $1.24 billion for the sought-after "C" block, which carries another condition requiring that it be open to all devices and software applications as long as the minimum price is met. The FCC has set minimum prices of $1.3 billion and $4.7 billion for the D and C blocks respectively. These blocks could be used to create a national network. Other spectrum includes local chunks set aside in blocks designated "A" and "B". The final, "E" block, is considered less useful because it is limited to one-way data transmission. Starting on Friday, the FCC is scheduled to hold three rounds of bidding each day until further notice. Bidding typically accelerates as the auction progresses.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2425560720080124

* Spectrum Auction Spotlights Wireless Woes (Free Press)
Ben Scott: "The wireless industry is dominated by a handful of companies with a track record of stifling competition and an aversion to the innovation that open networks bring to the market. Placing the promise of the mobile Internet exclusively under the gatekeeper control of these companies is a chilling prospect. We need policies that open the closed networks of today and guarantee an open wireless Internet for future generations.”
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=329

* How the wireless spectrum auction could change your life
Depending on who's talking, the wireless spectrum auction that starts on Jan. 24 will significantly change the mobile and wireless landscape in the United States, or it won't have much impact at all.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/24/How-the-wireless-spectrum-auct...

* FCC's Airwaves Auction Draws $2.78 Billion in Bids
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR200801...

* Airwaves draw high initial bids
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc25jan25,1,2550421....