Qwest has talked to Verizon Wireless as part of a plan to revamp the way Qwest sells bundles of services, Verizon Communications Inc confirmed on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said his company has held talks with Qwest about a possible deal.
Qwest said on Monday it is working on a new kind of wireless partnership because its current arrangement to resell Sprint Nextel Corp services is inadequate.
Qwest’s traditional land line service is declining and, unlike rivals Verizon and AT&T, does not have a wireless unit.
Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, which could make a possible transition easier for Qwest customers, although Verizon also plans to go with LTE.
The AWS band (1.7 GHz/2.1 GHz) may be another option.
Stelera Wireless, an Oklahoma City-based rural broadband service provider has launched Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) in Floresville and Poth, Texas, notes Om Malik.
Stelera Wirelesss is a wireless startup that owns 42 AWS licenses across the United States covering almost 6 million people. The company will offer residential and business packages that cost anywhere from $60 to $100 a month. The speeds on an HSPA network are up to 7.2 Mbps downlink and 2 Mbps uplink. The I-HSPA technology from Nokia Siemens Networks can offer download speeds of up to 42 megabits per second.
Both MetroPCS and LeapWireless (under the Cricket name) acquired nationwide spectrum in the AWS auction last year, although the big winners were T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
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Top 10 Highest AWS Bidders
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| Bidders | Net total of high bids |
| 1. T-Mobile | $4.2 billion |
| 2. Verizon Wireless | $2.8 billion |
| 3. SpectrumCo | $2.4 billion |
| 4. MetroPCS | $1.4 billion |
| 5. Cingular | $1.3 billion |
| 6. Cricket | $710 million |
| 7. Denali Spectrum | $365 million |
| 8. Barat Wireless | $127 million |
| 9. AWS Wireless | $116 million |
| 10. Atlantic Wireless | $81 million |
| Click here to find out who is backing these bidders. | |
The FCC’s Advanced Wireless Services auction concluded in September 2006 and grossed $13.9 billion for the U.S. Treasury.
Related DailyWireless stories include; Qwest Proposes Universal Service Changes, Rural Broadband Gets A Plan, Congressional Fix for Universal Service?, Supernova Shout Match, Statewide/Nationwide Wireless Broadband, Clearwire & SatTV Do a Deal, WildBlue -1 Goes Live, Satellite Repeaters: Grounded in Reality?, Hearings on 700 MHz, Rural Broadband Dying, and Verizon Makes its Move for Universal Service Fund,
