DoCoMo and other Asian carriers eyeing FCC auction?

Everybody is sworn to silence until the auction is over, so we won't be seeing much more information about this until it's all over in the spring of next year, but for now it's still fun to speculate. Business Week is doing quite a bit of that speculating as well, with word that DoCoMo, KDDI, SK Telecom and even China (through the T-Mobile and Global Tower invested Blackstone Group) could be chipping in a few billion here and there to spice things up for Google and friends in the 700MHz C Block auction. DoCoMo, which got burned in the US a while back with pre-Cingular AT&T Wireless, mentioned to Business Week that it'd be interested in partnering with Google for its wireless network, and the other carrier might not be talking but have to be at least considering the possibility of being involved in US wireless data in a big way, and KDDI has a history of being chummy with Google in Japan. The word is that average North American data service bills are less than $10 a month, and are expected to grow to $38+ a month by 2012 -- and who wouldn't want in on that action? As growth slows in Europe and Asia, it seems only natural for the innovators over there to head over here and kick things into gear, but we'll try not too far ahead of ourselves.

[Via The Inquirer]

[Todd @ Dec 11th 2007 6:19PM]

Queue Godzilla roaring sound effect.

[Moe Abe @ Dec 11th 2007 6:22PM]

Foreign carries such as DoCoMo (if true that they are interested in the FCC auction), would help improve cell phone services in US. It is the service and how your cell phone utilizes that service.

[Mike @ Dec 11th 2007 6:22PM]

"The word is that average North American data service bills are less than $10 a month"

Really? I'd love to get me in on some of that sub-$10 action.

[Mark @ Dec 11th 2007 7:05PM]

I think that means that a lot of consumers don't use much data at all.

[resource @ Dec 11th 2007 6:23PM]

Are the Asian carreirs better than our US slave drivers?

If so this could be an awesome auction.

[roole @ Dec 11th 2007 6:48PM]

Ah, lovely, that giant sucking sound of being hived off in pieces by foreigners thanks to a plummeting dollar......

[matt @ Dec 11th 2007 7:16PM]

Welcome Welcome, Please come in !!!

[brad @ Dec 11th 2007 7:20PM]

"North American data service bills are less than $10 a month"


who the hell is offering data at $10.00 a month?

[Andrew @ Dec 11th 2007 7:47PM]

They're not saying data plans are costing $10 a month. They're saying the average person is paying about $10 a month for data. That's an average, sport.

[Charles @ Dec 11th 2007 7:36PM]

what does this mean for the bees? havent heard anything on that in a long time

[Andrew @ Dec 11th 2007 8:44PM]

DoCoMarigoto, Mr. Roboto.

[TheCow5 @ Dec 12th 2007 2:12AM]

I have a feeling Google wont win this auction and I would like it if they did not, because I would like to buy stop in the company's that win the auction and I cant afford googles tock.

[Jamar @ Dec 12th 2007 2:54AM]

If they get a big Japanese carrier's backing they may very well win it. Personally I'd like to see DoCoMo enter the US market. Why? Get on Engadget Mobile and look at their latest phone lineup announcement. That's why.