February 7th, 2008
With Google likely out, who's new bidder for spectrum?
Some spectrum watchers are now saying that Google has bowed out of the so-called C block auction for the nationwide 700MHz spectrum. But there are still two active bidders in that auction, presumably Verizon and AT&T.
As I mentioned yesterday, what had looked like the winning bid on Friday at $4.71 billion on the national package was bested Monday by another player bidding on all of the regional packages. Altogether, that bid came to $4.74 billion and is currently the winning bid.
PCWorld quotes Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation:
“The conventional wisdom is that Google’s primary goal is to ensure that the $4.6 billion reserve price is met, so that the open access conditions are binding on the winner, but that they have little desire to own spectrum or operate a network. … It would make perfect sense for Verizon or AT&T to focus on the regional c-block licenses - and acquire the entire c-block if the price exceeded the reserve - and Google stopped bidding.”
So with the open-access reserve met, the betting money say Google is out, its investors are relieved, and Verizon and a competitor like AT&T are slugging it out.
