The FCC has ruled that the winner of the 700 mhz ‘block D” spectrum can wholesale all the capacity (pdf), so long as it abides by the other guidelines surrounding D block, including the provision that requires the victorious bidder to “build out a nationwide wireless network that is good enough to meet public safety specifications for coverage and redundancy.”
In a hearing before the House Small Business Committee (below) this October, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin outlined the benefits for small businesses that the 700MHz auction will provide (pdf).
It will promote improved access to wireless broadband and facilitate the ability of small firms to compete, said Martin. Here are other video highlights on YouTube.
“I don’t have any plans to try to revise our open-platform rule the way Verizon wants us to,” Martin told reporters outside the congressional hearing.
The filing window for short-form 700 MHz applications opens Nov. 19 and closes Dec. 3. The wholesale provision is expected to widen the range of potential bidders and encourage small business participation. The Public Safety Spectrum Trust is the entity that will act as a liaison between the winning D-Block licensee and first responders to deploy a dual-use wireless broadband network that meets the needs of both commercial users and public safety users.
The Upper 700 MHz band consists of two large (22 MHz) spectrum chunks. It has been widely reported that Google and Verizon are most interested in the “C” block, a commercial block that does not have a requirement for shared public service users. It covers the nation with 22 Mhz of spectrum available. Wholesale access is not a requirement for the “C” block. Bids start at $4.6 billion.
The “D” block (10 Mhz), combined with a portion of public service spectrum (12 Mhz), created another large (22 MHz) chunk of nation-wide spectrum. The price is lower but costs are higher. That’s because the “D” block requires shared use by public service providers, more stringent technical requirements and blanket coverage nation-wide.
The Lower 700 Mhz band includes two smaller pairs (12 MHz) of commercial frequencies, block “A” and “B”. Also up for auction this January is the “E” block, a 6 Mhz simplex “island”, that is likely to be used for Mobile television, similar to Qualcomm’s MediaFLO on the lower “D” block (channel 55).
The wholesale requirement on the public service “D” block is probably good news for Frontline Wireless, a leading contender for the shared public service band, making it easier for them to raise capital.
Reed Hundt says if Frontline gets their “D-Block”, then it planned to “build the nation’s first fourth-generation broadband wireless network from coast-to-coast” and “sell services to police and firefighters to create the nation’s first interoperable network for all of public safety.”
Google could lease the “C” block to somebody like Sprint or Clearwire, speculates The Inquirer. Google bought Ubiquisys, the #1 femtocell developer, this July. It provides a local 3G base station in the home and plugs into DSL. The box also provides WiFi, Ethernet, USB and ordinary telephone access.
A 700 mhz connection could be handy for providing rural users with phone and data services while a cellular or WiMAX connection has more capacity for high-density urban dwellers.
Related DailyWireless articles include; 700 MHz Scenarios, AT&T Buys 700MHz from Aloha, Google: We Got Trouble. . . In 700 Mhz, AT&T, Verizon & Frontline Want 700Mhz Changes, Google Invests in Femocell Company, T-Mobile UMA Goes National, Sprint Exits SpectrumCo, Nortel + Leap Wireless, MetroPCS & Leap Announce Merger, MetroPCS: Bring on 700MHz, AWS Visual Guide, T-Mobile Plans UMTS, Cyren Call to Manage Public Safety Spectrum, National Broadband Policy?, WiMAX World 2007, Free Cellular Service, Google: Now it’s Transpacific Fiber, Verizon Jumping to LTE?, Ads on Cellphones, Cable Delivered MuniFi, ICO Wants Its Mobile TV - via DVB-SH, 2.1GHz for MuniFi?, 700Mhz Auction: Jan 16, 2008, FCC Finalizes Rules on 700MHz: Limited Open Access, No Wholesale Requirement
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