AT&T, Verizon, and Google chime in on FCC auction aftermath
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Mar 21st 2008 12:18AM
posted Mar 21st 2008 12:18AM
Meanwhile, AT&T seems happy with its purchase, too -- but then again, it's not like any of these companies would be issuing immediate statements expressing buyer's remorse, we guess. The number one US carrier by subscribers reports that its newly acquired licenses, in combination with spectrum snatched from Aloha Partners earlier this year, now gives it 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the nation's top 200 markets, with "quality spectrum" (whatever that means) covering 95 percent of the American populace. For what it's worth, AT&T's Auction 73 purchases were in Block B, which has moderately less bandwidth than Verizon's Block C win -- but as they say, it's not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it's the motion of the frequencies, so we'll have to wait to see how these guys actually use these licenses before we rush to any conclusions.
Finally, from its brief statement, Google appears to have gotten exactly what it wanted: nothing at all. The company says that Auction 73 "produced a major victory for American consumers" because Block C's reserve price was met -- thanks largely to Google's early bidding, it's believed -- which means that Verizon will be obligated to allow devices of all shapes, sizes, colors, and brands to participate when it flips the switch on its 700MHz network.
All three companies sound like they're itching to say more as soon as the FCC allows it, so stay tuned as we try to figure out exactly what's next for the auction, the carriers, and the people who actually want to benefit from this action (read: us).
Read - AT&T's statement
Read - Verizon Wireless' statement
Read - Google's statement
just wanted to say, thanks google. They've earned my newfound respect for them.
ATT and Verizon, you've been punked by Google. :)
Does the open access requirement apply to AT&Ts piecemeal block or just verizon's C block?
They have had my respect for some time. Like, say, a webmail service that doesn't discriminate against firefox on ubuntu... and the fact that they helped get photoshop CS2 working in WINE.
GSoC is on again...
Stuff like that. They're just generally awesome.
I can't believe google played "bid chicken" that's funny stuff. Still, as cool as it is, they're one sinister ass company... I'll probably have a file on me just for saying so....(puts tin foil hat back on)
Google endorsing the Gphone i guess.
I'm very anxious to see what google has up their sleeve...
u do look quite anxious there...
totally not over the same picture
u're cute!
jaja Engadget Personals
I'm going to wait till the last 15 seconds and enter a bid for $4.697 Billion.
I lol'd.
Being a happy verizon customer in terms of signal (at least in nyc, they kick ass) this is very good news, on the other hand, i would really like to see some great looking phones on this network like some nokias and sony ericssons... preferably uncrippled.
i have to agree with the lack of phones on verizon. i really would like to see some ericssons. i have major phone envy of the ericsson.
After all the suspense and drama Engadget has been giving this auction (with good reason) I was expecting more fanfare or exciting conclusion somehow. Where's the confetti, Engadget??
"but as they say, it's not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it's the motion of the frequencies," not exciting enough for you?
Oohh douggy, why don't you come over here and alternate my current.
Fuck Verizon and their CDMA. Unlocked GSM phones FTW! We are soooo getting shafted with these auction results. Well I guess I will keep dreaming for us to catch up with Japan and South Korea.
"Well I guess I will keep dreaming for us to catch up with Japan and South Korea"
because we really need to be focusing on that. the whole growing poverty thing we have in the states deserves that lower priority.
japan, korea
and western europe
@wixostrix
Yeah, because this is a political/humanitarian blog, and not a tech blog.
Fine, let's put it in your terms:
-Better technology than our competitors means more international companies are willing to come to use for tech
-More demand means more jobs are created here instead of in Japan and Korea
-More jobs means less poverty
Economics are more involved than what happens to line your ass so kindly pull your head out and look around.
SUCK IT BLUE!
"but as they say, it's not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it's the motion of the frequencies,"
Bandwidth is pretty much everything. Why do you think they moved from AM to FM?
Because you touch yourself at night.
so? Me too. you too, probby.
Amplitude modulation vs. Frequency Modulation?
Do you even know what that means?
"Do you even know what that means?"
.... Why would I say that if I didn't know what AM and FM mean? AM modulation has a fixed bandwidth depending on the signal you are modulating. The reason why they switched from AM to FM was to increase the bandwidth of the transmitted signal. More bandwidth = less SNR (greater quality).
I think some of you missed the double entendre....
"It's not the size of your "tool", it's how you use it."
That may explain some of the above comments....
It's not the size of the wave, it's the motion in the ocean
I agree.
It's not the motion of the wave, but it's amplitude coefficient.
*facepalm of approval*
lets go and give those airwaves the OH face
Google is one of those pricks on eBay that jacks up the price early when everyone else just wants to snipe it for a low price, but in this case it's pretty funny.
Google: No, it's cool, we were planning to lose. Totally. We're not bitter or anything. Totally.
Engadget, you're becoming lazy. You need to do an AT&T version of this LOLauction screenshot.
Whats fun about this is it seems Verizon had resigned to the open device thing long before the reserve was met, when they joined the Open Handset Alliance. Who thinks google passed some money through a backdoor long before this auction to make sure verizon won and paid the reserve to turn it into open access.
They probably did that in anticipation to winning the spectrum.
"reputation as the nation's most reliable wireless network" lol
Wasn't at&t bankrupt a short time ago?
How are they so high-and-mighty now? I know they merged with Cingular, but still...
Is it all from ill-begotten iPhone money?
100% coverage by AT&T eh? maybe then my friends will actually get service in their homes and neighborhoods. No wait they gave up and switched to T-mobile where they are now enjoying full service and cheaper plans. Go to hell AT&T, and the next time you merge the old AT&T with Cingular plan ahead, so that you don't blame the lack of service and all those dropped calls on users using the wrong profiles. Seriously its been almost 2 years since you merged, if you don't know what your doing by now, you'll never get it right.
"It's not the bandwidth of the spectrum, it's the motion of the frequencies" Sounds more like "It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean"
Forgive my ignorance, but I can't really get what the fuss with Open networks/ Open devices is all about. For exmaple, what prevents Google from making the highly hyped Gphone for GSM and release it into the wild. Many "no name" Chinese companies make such phones. I can go and get ATT SIM-card, subscribe to a data plan and voila! Where's the beef?
This article is wrong! The 700 Mhz spectrum mentioned in the 2nd paragraph went to Verizon not AT&T.
Get the facts straight!
This article is wrong! The 700 Mhz spectrum mentioned in the 2nd paragraph went to Verizon not AT&T.
Get the facts straight!
I wanted Google to win something...
I'm sure that someone knows here but what does the FCC do with all that money? 4.6 bil... I want some! I use a cell phone and listen to the radio and stuff.
I'm sure that someone knows here but what does the FCC do with all that money? 4.6 bil... I want some! I use a cell phone and listen to the radio and stuff.