WASHINGTON-House and Senate budget leaders are at odds over President Bush's plan to delay auctions of valuable broadcast spectrum, a dispute that arises at a time when the mobile-phone industry desperately wants to secure additional frequencies for third-generation wireless systems.The Senate budget resolution embraces...
WASHINGTON-Last December, two months after President Clinton ordered government studies on spectrum availability for third-generation wireless systems and at a time when mobile-phone and Pentagon officials were intensely studying the issue, Senate Armed Services Committee member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) quietly directed the General Accounting...
Wireless industry insiders increasingly seem to be making the case that governments should consider "rebates" to carriers that bid too much money at spectrum auctions for third-generation wireless services. While they make some strong points, one has to wonder how many times this issue...
WASHINGTON-Whether the nation is plagued with daunting deficits or buoyed by gushing surpluses, spectrum auctions remain a lightning rod for controversy as the revenue-generating wireless licensing tool becomes inextricably intertwined in national budget policy.This was inevitable.Spectrum auctions grew out of a 1993 budget bill...
WASHINGTON-The wireless industry last week received the strongest indication to date that securing third-generation mobile-phone spectrum will be difficult if not impossible, as an eclectic mix of military, educational, religious and fixed wireless licensees voiced serious reservations about leaving their frequencies to make room...
TORONTO-The established Canadian wireless fraternity scooped up most of the available spectrum licenses contested in the February auction. All told, Industry Canada's auction for wireless spectrum in the 2 GHz band raised US$964 million for federal coffers.Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility were the two...
As the wireless industry is rocked with one huge acquisition, spectrum auction and technological development after another, a small-and often overlooked-market segment continues to operate just below radar. Resellers have quietly been activating wireless customers for the past few decades, but some say they...
As wireless carriers began bidding on 422 personal communications services licenses up for grabs in the government auction last week, investors were hoping carriers were not feeling extra generous due to the holiday season.Previous spectrum auctions have seen prices escalate rapidly-along with investor fears...
In stark contrast to the wildly successful Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service auction held in the United Kingdom this spring, the U.K.'s broadband fixed wireless access spectrum auction barely made a whimper as only 16 of the 42 available licenses were bought up by bidders....
OTTAWA-Seven companies will participate in a spectrum auction in Canada set to begin 15 January. Forty megahertz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band will be awarded.Mobile incumbent carriers Bell Mobility Inc., Microcell Telecommunications, Rogers Wireless Communications and Telus Corp. will all participate in...
MELBOURNE, Australia-The Australian government has raised just more than A$112 million (US$58.7 million) from the first of its third-generation (3G) spectrum auctions.The auction, conducted by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), was divided into two principal blocks: the first covered 13 areas based around major cities;...
The Canadian government delayed its personal communications services spectrum auction for a second time until mid-January, giving officials enough time to respond to concerns about strategic alliances.The auction was supposed to take place some time in November, but Paul Lajoie, technical analyst at Industry...
WASHINGTON-With worries in some quarters that America will lose the third-generation mobile- phone market to Europe and Asia, the blame game has begun.Leading the finger-pointing is John Stanton, chief executive officer of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and chairman of the Cellular Telecom-munications Industry Association.Stanton, addressing...
BOSTON-Telecommunications consultant Charles River Associates Inc. was selected to advise Switzerland's Federal Office of Communications on the implementation of the country's auction of IMT-2000/UMTS spectrum licenses for third-generation personal communications services.Ten applicants have applied to participate in the auction process, which will culminate in...
WASHINGTON-A congressional subcommittee and the wireless industry put pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to delay the upcoming 700 MHz auction, while private wireless wants the agency to go ahead with the guard-band auction.In addition, Verizon Wireless asked to delay the Nov. 29 re-auction...
There's a virtual reality about government spending these days. Just ask Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee.Faced with GOP cuts in Clinton-proposed budgets for the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department and other agencies in fiscal 2001, Obey...
GENEVA-With auction prices of the United Kingdom's five third-generation licenses beating even the most inflated analyst forecasts, all eyes are now on Italy, which is set to allocate five 15-year Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) licenses in a few months.Europe's largest mobile market with...
A consortium comprised of Telefonica, Orange and Sonera will join U.S.-based MCI WorldCom and 10 other groups in bidding for third-generation (3G) licenses in Germany. The auction is set to begin in early July.The German regulator will sell 12 frequencies of radio spectrum to...
After eight weeks and 150 rounds, NTL Mobile said enough and dropped out of the U.K. government auction for five Universal Mobile Telecommunications System licenses. The withdrawal left only five bidders for the licenses, ending the auction that generated more than $35 billion for...
Was anyone paying attention to the debacle that was the U.S. C-block spectrum auction of 1996? Has anyone been paying attention to what has happened to the C-block "winners" since then? When RCR decided in this issue to look at the C-block winners and...
WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee is expected shortly to approve the renomination of Federal Communications Commission member Susan Ness, but the Clinton Democrat's future is anything but clear.At last Wednesday's confirmation hearing, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), head of the communications subcommittee, said Senate Commerce Committee...
SYDNEY, Australia-Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Ltd. joined three Australian mobile phone incumbents in securing spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Proceeds of the spectrum auction totaled more than $809.5 million for the Australian government, with One.Tel Ltd., Telstra Corp. and Vodafone AirTouch plc also receiving...
PARSIPPANY, N.J.-Metrocall Inc. and Aquis Communications Group Inc. announced results of their respective 900 MHz spectrum auction bids.Aquis said it won licenses in five of the top seven markets in the Northeast and Midwest, including Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.Meanwhile, Metrocall said...
The Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 7 released its decision establishing a new 700 MHz wireless service, setting the stage for a spectrum auction expected by congressional budget writers to raise $2.6 billion for the U.S. Treasury. This FCC action has significant implications for...
