If you plan on getting some of that sweet 700 MHz the government is auctioning off on January 24, you officially now have less than six hours to get those applications into the FCC. Unfortunately, we won't find out who's bidding on what for another week or two, but there are already plenty of clues. As previously reported, Google will be going it alone for the highly-prized "C block" and its reserve price of $4.6 billion. Similarly, Frontline Wireless has confirmed it will bid for a separate block of spectrum with the intention of building a nationwide public safety network that would sell access capacity to wholesalers. Then there's the wireless giants, like Verizon and AT&T, who are also expected to bid on this open access portion of the spectrum, although neither company has officially confirmed this intent. In October, AT&T quietly paid $2.5 billion in cash to buy spectrum from Aloha Partners, the largest owner of 700-MHz spectrum in the United States. The company's CEO Randall Stephenson later confirmed that the iPhone is driving the company's interest in 700 MHz spectrum.
Conversely, most major cable operators seem to be shying away from the 700, despite their rumored interest in "quadruple-play" bundles, or high-speed data, telephony, TV, and wireless. On Monday, both Time Warner Cable and Comcast confirmed they will not bid in next year's auction.
Specifically, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt told attendees of the UBS Global Media Week and Communications Conference on Monday that "we are not going to be in this particular auction."
While auction applications are due on Monday at 6 p.m. (EST), an official list of bidders likely won't be released for another week or two, according to sources familiar with the bidding procedures. Sometime between now and December 28 -- which is the date when all qualifying bidders will need to submit their upfront payments -- the FCC will make this list public. At that point, we'll not only get an official list of the bidding companies, but also whether their applications are complete or need appending. As opposed to previous FCC wireless auctions, the 700 MHz auction is set to be anonymous, so this list many not include how much money each company is putting up, or even what portion of the spectrum they plan to bid on, according to the FCC.
During the last wireless auction (Auction 66, Advanced Wireless Services), the FCC released its status notice 18 days after the application due date. If the government agency follows precedent, we should see a list by the 21st of December. Due to the impending holidays, and because the FCC will want to allow adequate time for companies with incomplete applications to amend them, that date may be sooner. For a complete overview of how the auction will proceed, as well as its myriad implications to the wireless landscape, see our recent 700 MHz FAQ.
