dailywireless.org » The 700 MHz List

The 700 MHz List

A list of potential 700 MHz bidders was made available on the FCC’s Web site (pdf), late Tuesday. It has accepted 96 applications and reported 170 as incomplete (pdf). The latter need to be completed by Jan. 4.

The FCC auction of 700-megahertz spectrum, is scheduled to begin on January 24. The FCC-run wireless auction is expected to take several weeks, with the spectrum to be auctioned off in several blocks.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was listed with an entity called Vulcan Spectrum LLC. Allen’s runs Vulcan Capital and is also a majority shareholder in U.S. cable operator Charter Communications.

Auction applicants included the usual suspects with, Google, AT&T, Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership), as well as Qualcomm and Frontline Wireless (Licenseco) making the list (or having to check it twice). EchoStar, aka Frontier Wireless, is also on board.

The accepted 700 MHz applicants with their bidding range are:

Adams Telcom, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Aeronet Wireless Broadband Corp. 0 - 15,000,000
AlasConnect, Inc.
Aristotle Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
AWS Spectrum, LLC 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Bayou Internet, Inc.
BEK Communications Cooperative 0 - 15,000,000
Bend Cable Communications, LLC
Blanca Telephone Company 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Blue Sky Cell, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Bluegrass Wireless LLC
Bresnan Communications, Inc.
Broadband Wireless Unlimited, LLC 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Budget Phone
Cavalier Wireless, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Central Texas Telephone Investments, LP
Chariton Valley Communication Corporation, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Chester Telephone Company 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Clearcom, Inc.
COLI INc 0 - 15,000,000
Command Connect, LLC
Cricket Licensee 2007, LLC
Cross Telephone Company, LLC
CTC Telcom, Inc.
Data-Max Wireless LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Delmarva Broadband LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Ellijay Telephone Company
Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Farmers Telephone Company, Inc.
Fidelity Communications Company
Forum Communications Company
FTC Management Group, Inc.
Glenwood Telephone Membership, Corporation 0 - 15,000,000
Golden Belt Telephone Association, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Google Airwaves Inc.
Grain Spectrum LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Great American Broadband, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
GreenFly LLC 0 - 15,000,000
H & B Communications, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Inland Cellular Telephone Company
IT&E Overseas, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
KeyOn Spectrum Holdings, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Kinex Networking Solutions, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
Kingdom Telephone Company 0 - 15,000,000
Kurian, Thomas K 0 - 15,000,000
Lackawaxen Long Distance Company, Inc.
Landover PCS Holdings, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
MAC Wireless, LLC
Manti Telephone Company 0 - 15,000,000
Medicine Park Telephone Company, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
Midwest AWS Limited Partnership 0 - 15,000,000
Miller, David 0 - 15,000,000
Mt. Vernnon.Net Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
MTN3B Consortium 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Mulberry Cooperative Telephone Company, Inc 0 - 15,000,000
N.E. Colorado Wireless Technologies, Inc.
Neptuno Media 0 - 15,000,000
Northeast Missouri Rural Telephone Company 0 - 15,000,000
Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Northern Iowa Communications Partners, LLC 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Panhandle Telecommunication Systems, Inc.
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
PBP Bidco LLC
PCS Partners, L.P. 0 - 15,000,000
Piedmont Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Polar Communications Mutual Aid Corporation
Public Service Wireless Services, Inc.
Red River Rural Telephone Association, Inc.
Sandhill Communications, LLC 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Siskiyou Telephone Company 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Small Ventures USA, L.P. 0 - 15,000,000
Spectrum Acquisitions, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Star Telephone Membership Corporation 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Swayzee Telephone Co. Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
TCT West, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Terra World Communications, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
The Chillicothe Telephone Company
The Tri-County Telephone Association, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
The World Company
Towerstream Corporation 0 - 15,000,000
Tri-Valley Communications, LLC
Triad 700, LLC 0 - 15,000,000
USA Choice Internet Services Company LLC 0 - 15,000,000
Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Van Buren Wireless, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
Vavasi NexGen Inc.
Vermont Telephone Company, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Vulcan Spectrum LLC
Washington County Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc 0 - 15,000,000
West Wisconsin Telcom Cooperative, Inc. 15,000,000 - 40,000,000
Wi2 0 - 15,000,0000002624856 Wireless Communications Venture
Worldcall Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
WUE, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000
Xpressweb Internet Services, Inc. 0 - 15,000,000

The FCC’s AWS auction in September, 2006 (FCC summary) grossed $13.9 billion for the U.S. Treasury. T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. wireless provider, topped the bidding by offering almost $4.2 billion for 120 licenses.

While the Bush Administration promised to “bridge the digital divide” with 90 MHz of new spectrum, it was cellular operators that benefited. San Antonio-based Cingular wanted the Bush administration to provide more spectrum for its GSM-based “3G”, which required 5 Mhz channels. But in the next few years the company also got approval by Justice and the FCC to buy Bell South.

By the time the AWS auction finally happened, AT&T didn’t really need the additional spectrum. They pulled a similar maneuver, buying 700 MHz spectrum from Aloha Partners this October.

Germany’s T-Mobile wound up benefiting the most from the AWS auction.

The FCC carved up the AWS spectrum into FDD (dual-frequency) channels for 3G cellular operators and carved up 700 MHz in a similar manner. The argument for duplex in the 700 MHz band is the constrained 6MHz space and public safety channels.

A “4G” system like Mobile WiMAX is optimized for single-frequency TDD (WiMAX Forum white paper). It can deliver faster, cheaper, broadband by using COFDMA, scalable coding, beamforming and MIMO antennas on a single channel (much like Wi-Fi). Duplex would increase the cost. It put Mobile WiMAX at a competitive disadvantage on the AWS band since cellular operators already had infrastructure.

WiMAX can do FDD but it’s less efficient and wastes spectrum, say WiMAX proponents. That’s because one channel is mostly “listening”. And you need double the radios and antennas in a handset.

When it comes to FCC policy, money talks. Nevertheless, it appears that FCC Chief Kevin Martin has learned from the AWS exercise and has skillfully crafted a workable plan for the 700 MHz band. The proof may be revealed by the number of real competitors in next month’s auction.

The FCC, using AWS bidding figures, says next January’s auction could generate some $15 billion for the treasury, but actual bids could go much higher since 700 MHz requires only about one third the number of cell towers for similar coverage.