

Apple now considering bidding in the wireless auction - jsjenkins168
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2007/tc20070910_014733.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story

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LogicHoleFlaw
I currently work in the ISP billing industry, with a focus on WiMAX. Yes, it
really is a low margin headache. It's also filled with moribund oligopolists
intent on squeezing every last penny out of their consumers (nee customers).

I'm anxious to see how the upcoming auctions on the 700 MHz spectrum turn out.
If one of the new contenders such as Google or (possibly Apple) can upset the
status quo it will be a huge win for customers and innovation in the wireless
market. Google's proposed 4 levels of openness, for example, would be a huge
breath of fresh air which could provide the level of competition and
innovation which could possibly get the USA back in the game in comparison to
other nations in terms of the wireless market and broadband penetration.

High-speed wireless broadband is a possible solution to the "last-mile"
problem which could bypass the current broadband monopolies based on physical
presence in homes (cable and DSL.)

Here's hoping that we manage to not screw this one up. We're not going to see
an auction and opportunity like this again for a very long time.

Disclaimer: My views are my own and not necessarily representative of the
corporation I work for.

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jsjenkins168
I'm also eager to see a shift towards openness in the US mobile industry. Let
startups complete fairly in this emerging space, without the telcos walled
gardens.

While I would primarily like to see the major telcos fail to win the auction,
I am not too keen on the idea of Apple winning either... Unlike Google I dont
think they have openness objectives in mind. The iPhone, iTunes, and just
about everything else with Apple recently is an indication of this. They are
all about walled gardens. I wont go as far as saying they are as bad as the
telcos. I think the end users would still benefit more (at least when using
Apple wireless devices), but I suspect Google would better represent most end
users.

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mpfefferle
The strategic importance of owning the network could be incredibly valuable
for any tech company. If the author is correct though, and the business really
is a low margin headache, wouldn't it still be in their interest for Apple,
Google, Microsoft, etc to set up some kind of joint venture to administer the
network while they focus on their individual services?

I know it may be tough for them to work with their competitors like this, but
it's better then being squeezed by and independent operator.

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hello_moto
I don't think Microsoft will join this bidding war. They always try not to
upset their partners.

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jsjenkins168
Microsoft appears to be very interested in the proposed "white space" auction.
Basically, the white space frequencies are the wasted spectrum between the
various frequency bands. Microsoft apparently wants in on ownership of these
series of smaller bands to use for mobile devices.

But the FCC first has to be convinced that devices operating in the white
space bands wont interfere with those in the normal bands.. So far it looks
like they are not convinced:
[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/13/microsoft_says_white...](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/13/microsoft_says_white_space_prototype_was_broken/)

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sgraham
Is a joint goog/aapl bid unlikely? Or am I reading too much into gmaps on
iphone?

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dappelbaum
Awesome. Can't wait.

