700MHz Wireless Spectrum Auction Is Over.

FCC Chairman over a conference call mentioned that 700MHz Spectrum with open access bids totaling 19.6 Billion Dollars, higher than all all the auctions that it held in last 15 years. Chairman Kevin Martin said the 700MHz auction was the most successful auction the agency has ever conducted, raising more money than all previous auctions put together, excluding the Advanced Wireless Services auction in 2006.
Main focus in this auction was the clause Open Access on the C Block. The open-access requirement is significant because today, U.S. wireless operators like Verizon(most restrictive) have tight control over which devices can be used on their networks and which applications can be used on those handsets. Google and other companies, such as Skype, have complained that this is too restrictive. It is also the reason that Google entered into bidding. The C block have garnered a 4.75 Billion bid (Google said it will bid up to 4.6Billion) but But the D block, set aside to build a nationwide public-safety network, did not meet its reserve price, it only received 472 million offer and never reached the 1.3 Billion Price.
FCC Plans to hold another auction for the D block in the near future.
The identities of the auction bidders are still a secret. To prevent anti-competitive behavior, the FCC kept the bidding anonymous. Martin said the names of the auction winners would not be revealed until the commission voted on separating the D block from the rest of the auction. Since the FCC won't be able to get this item on its agenda for at least three weeks, the names of the winners won't likely be revealed until April.
Read a complete report at News.com
tag: 700 MHz Spectrum, FCC, Spectrum Auction, C Block, Open Access, Verizon, Google wireless,