“Talk of the government’s pending auction of valuable wireless spectrum has focused largely on one intriguing newcomer to the bidding: Google (GOOG). But another tech powerhouse has considered joining the bidding as well: Apple,” Peter Burrows reports for BusinessWeek.
“Two sources tell BusinessWeek that Steve Jobs & Co. have studied the implications of joining the auction, which will be held Jan. 16. The winners will get rights to use the spectrum that analog TV broadcasters are handing back to the government in 2009, given their mandated move to digital television,” Burrows reports.
“At this point, says one of the sources, Apple is leaning against participating in the auction. It’s not the money… Rather, the risk for Apple is in entering the generally low-margin, hardscrabble world of running a massive-scale network,” Burrows reports.
“Still, even the possibility of an Apple bid is intriguing… If it owned its own spectrum, Apple could provide the network service itself, possibly for far less than the $1,440 iPhone owners must now fork out over the course of the cheapest two-year contract… Apple might even be able to give away network service for free, and make its money off services such as iTunes and possibly by selling subscribers advertising space,” Burrows reports.
“Indeed, cutting out the carrier would probably be in sync with Steve Jobs’ view of the world,” Burrows reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “phil k” for the heads up.]
And Apple shall dub thee pWorld.
Pardon my ignorance, but can this current analog spectrum be used to send a digital signal?
I’m sure we will hear more as Peter Burrows delves deeper into the underbelly of this opening in the FCC’s ‘broad’cast auction.
There will probably be whispers and murmers of the impending outcome until the final moment when the winners will blow a wad of money, and the FCC can take their earnings and move on to their next spectrum offering.
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ballonknot
There is no difference in the spectrum, it is a difference in frequencies, and the carrier can be digital or analog. Maybe.
I don’t see Apple being in a big hurry to dump AT&T;.
Setting up a network is a grizzly business, and while AT&T;isn’t perfect their no worse than other providers. I just don’t see Apple snatching up bandwidth to service the iPhone.
If they have another use for it, then that’s another thing, but I don’t see them grabbing it to become their own wireless signal carrier.
It would make sense:
Apple makes next to nothing on the content (iTunes) but profits on the hardware (iPod) that uses the content…
so…
why not make next to nothing on the content (phone/info service) but profit on the hardware (iPhone) that uses the content?
hello Apple Phone Network
Goopple
Setting up a network is a grizzly business
Yep, it’s a bear market out there!
@ballonknot,
Yes. In fact, the reason the Analog spectrum has ‘opened up’ is due to television converting to a compressed digital transmission, requiring less of the analog bandwidth than at present.
Guys, the iPod touch is the real “google phone” it will be apple and google as partners buying the spectrum and the iPod touch will be the first product to make use of this.
Perhaps Google and Apple together should form a joint venture to bid on the spectrum. Having access to that spectrum would be a win/win for both companies, but they should not be bidding against each other.
“Setting up a network is a grizzly business”
“Yep, it’s a bear market out there!”
And it’s polarized enough as it is.
MW: north
Weather forecast:
100% chance of raining chairs in Redmond.
“”Setting up a network is a grizzly business”
“Yep, it’s a bear market out there!”
And it’s polarized enough as it is.”
Clawing your way to the top is not easy….
Would this serve the purpose of the huge data center they recently bought out East I think or wherever? I recall they bouhg t a building to hosts the datacenter and servers.
Not “Goopple”… Aggle.
@ballonknot
In addition to unfettered’s info, it is interesting to note that the spectrum being auctioned is a lower frequency than current cell phone frequencies. Lower frequencies penetrate solids better than higher frequencies, so phones operating in the the old TV frequency can potentially see much better reception in in cities and inside buildings. Wouldn’t that be nice. I could say goodbye to all my landline phone if my cell worked better indoors.
“Comment from: TowerTone
ballonknot
There is no difference in the spectrum, it is a difference in frequencies, and the carrier can be digital or analog. Maybe.”
What? I dobn’t think you know what you are talking about. Spectrum IS a range of frequencies.
Analog or digital transmissions can work on any frequency just the same as you can speak in English or speak in Chinese when speaking, and you can use a high picthed voice or low pitched voice. Speaking is speaking.
“Clawing your way to the top is not easy….”
Unless you’re a honey pig like Ballmer who got the luckiest college roommate assignment in the history of modern civilization.
The winners will get rights to use the spectrum that analog TV broadcasters are handing back to the government in 2009, given their mandated move to digital television
Does this mean my rabbit ears are going to be worthless?
“Does this mean my rabbit ears are going to be worthless?”
Yes. But your badger butt will still be worth a small fortune.
Forgive me if I misread a previous article on the subject, but I thought the winner of the auction had to guarantee a substantial fraction of the US population would be covered within a couple years and even more a couple years after that.
So the questions are whether apple can finance and implement such a HUGE network deployment in so little time AND whether its profitable to do so. If you assume a square mile coverage per tower (+/- depending on terrain) deploying nationwide is going to require thousands of towers. Ouch. $$$
to the confused-
I stated that badly. What I meant was that there is no difference in how they can be used, as it is the carrier that has the info, not the actual frequency.
On frequencies and spectrum:
All that is being freed up is some frequencies, that will no longer be used by terrestial TV.
Remember, a spectrum is a range of frequncies – think of a rainbow. Green is a narrow range of frequencies within the larger range of frequencies that make up the spectrum of the rainbow.
Technically, all radio transmissions are analog. It is how the signal is generated by the sender and interpreted by the receiver. Think of the tones made by a modem – those are digital signals, but listening to them with your ears, you interpret them as analog tones.
So where TV was analog, whoever gets those frequencies can use them for analog or digital signals.
Hope this helps!
FneeeeK!!!!!!!!!!
Just to show you how stupid I am, I am at a loss to explain why the govamint of the US of A is in any way able to “auction” radio frequencies. I understand that they could regulate them, and I understand that they could tax spectrum users, but who in hell gave them the Bill of Sale on the radio spectrum such that they can sell it? Sounds like a really bad idea to me, and a great way to give someone a licence to print money.
I’d prefer the term AppleGoo!
Purchasing the bandwidth would be bearly suitalble to stockholders; too much invested.
AppleGoo ?
It’s a merger. No, it’s a dessert topping.
M. T. MacPhee laments:
“Just to show you how stupid I am, I am at a loss to explain why the govamint of the US of A is in any way able to “auction” radio frequencies.”
Only the beginning, In some states we are learning that the federal government even owns the water stored below ground, while they “only regulate” the water now, it is just a matter of time before users are charged for pumping underground water, nad yes, in time that will come up for auction as well. the air that you breathe will take a bit longer, but will happen!!
iWorld?
I’d really wonder at the usability of such frequencies for anything compact, the lower the frequency is the bigger the antenna needs to be in order to properly receive such singles, the higher frequencies used in cell phones and wi-fi need antenna’s only inches long and shorter, for TV signals it’d be a couple feet in length to get good reception for such frequencies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_frequency
http://www.crompton.com/wa3dsp/hamradio/antcalc.html
they should buy a piece of spectrum. if anything, bid it up… just for fun. a network is alot of work for Apple.
no doubt they want to keep AT&T;with an even better piece of subscriber $.
All the digital signal means is it sends it in 1 and 0 the frequencies can be used by either.
And why would Apple do this. Blow their stash of cash and borrow some more to buy what they could use at a competitive fee in any case. It is a totally unrelated business that no other equipment maker has entered. In addition this is US only, while Apple is a worldwide seller of hardware and software. Would they buy similar rights world wide where the original telcos nearly bankrupted themselves? I don’t think so.