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Verizon wins 700MHz national license, most regional licenses

“Verizon was the winner of the nationwide license for the crucial 700MHz wireless auction as well as most regional licenses, the FCC has revealed,” MacNN reports.

“An initial list of winners shows the telecoms giant to have successfully won both the national license as well as 11 out of 12 of the local licenses available for the ‘C’ block that is likely to be used for wireless data. The licenses supply the company with coverage across all of the US and would allow it to launch any future service with few gaps in its network,” MacNN reports.

“Only AT&T Mobility has managed to win a major regional “C” block bid for coverage in the Mississippi Valley, according to government documents,” MacNN reports.

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The Associated Press reports, “Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and British telecom giant Vodaphone Group, won nearly every license in the consumer-friendly ‘C block.'”

AP reports, “The spectrum, which encompasses about a third of the spectrum at auction, is subject to ‘open access’ provisions pushed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, meaning users of the network will be able to use whatever phones or software they wish. Verizon won the regional licenses in the block cover every state with the exception of Alaska.”

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Grant Gross reports for IDG News, “Verizon was the winning bidder in the 22MHz band of spectrum called the C block in the FCC’s 700MHz auction, which concluded Tuesday. The company bid US$4.7 billion for the spectrum, which covers nearly all of the U.S., while the high bids on the entire 700MHz auction totalled nearly $19.6 billion.”

“The FCC put so-called open-access provisions on the C block, meaning Verizon must allow outside devices such as mobile handsets from other carriers and must allow users to run outside applications on the network. Verizon originally filed a lawsuit against the FCC’s open access rules, but dropped out while trade group the CTIA continued with the lawsuit,” Gross reports.

“Among the other winners in the 700MHz auction was AT&T, which won spectrum covering the metropolitan areas of New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and dozens of other large cities. Qualcomm won spectrum covering New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles and other areas,” Gross reports.

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Peter Kaplan reports for Reuters, “Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. were big winners in the U.S. government’s auction of wireless licenses that raised a record $19.59 billion, the Federal Communication Commission said today.”

“Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with Vodafone Group Plc, won the nationwide ‘C’ block of the auction, giving it control of a major piece of the airwaves being vacated by television broadcasters as they move to digital signals in early 2009,” Kaplan reports. “The FCC also said that AT&T had won 227 licenses from among the ‘B’ block of regional licenses.”

“Frontier Wireless, a partner of U.S. satellite television company EchoStar, gained airwaves in the “E” block of the auction, covering almost all of the U.S.,” Kaplan reports.

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