MuniWireless

After writing rules that all but guaranteed failure for the auction of the “D” block of the 700 MHz spectrum lotto, the FCC is now starting on its second attempt to reach spectral nirvana — as in getting money through auction while also getting someone, somehow, to build a public/private network whose prime beneficiary is public safety.

Watching people like Morgan O’Brien make sausage out of the first attempt has left a bad taste in the mouths of many who would…

Harold Feld writes an analysis of the aftermath of the 700 MHz auctions in the United States. He says, in part:

Echostar was able to do an end run and acquire a national footprint — something previously denied to it in the AWS Auction in 2006. And, while AT&T and Verizon got most of the licenses, they had to pay through the nose to get them — rather than sopping them up dirt cheap as happened in the AWS auction (where…

And the winner is . . . the incumbent! It appears that Verizon and AT&T have won most of the licenses. Google came up with nothing. Read more at Harold Feld’s blog.

Don’t expect any kind of innovation from these guys. What a waste of time and money the 700 MHz auctions have been.

It seems counterintuitive that the FCC’s consideration of rules for the upcoming 700 MHz auction will have much impact on the future of municipal wireless. But two proposals under consideration could make significant new spectrum available for both licensed and unlicensed wireless system operators. These proposals would require winners of certain licenses to offer their 700 MHz spectrum on an affordable wholesale basis. If the FCC approves these proposals, municipal systems could lease “beachfront” spectrum to expand the reach and…