No sooner did the FCC clarify that they would lift anonymity after they collected the money when Martin held a press conference and the FCC released the results. Here are the headlines:
1) Verizon won C Block and a boatload of licenses;
2) AT&T took a boatload of licenses;
3) Google didn’t win anything (stupid oak leaves!).
I will have more details as I can track them down, and more analysis later. I also metaphorically owe Commissioner McDowell a dollar, for his prediction that the new entrants wouldn’t bite on the big C.
Stay tuned . . .
Yes, stupid oak leaves…
Of course tonite is Purim, so I’m going Slivovitz….Much nicer than oak leaves.
Luckily, by a quirk of my Ashkenazic metabolism, I don’t get hangovers.
Newcomer Frontier Wireless snagged almost enough for a nationwide footprint. At least that’s what an article sent to me said, but it didn’t specify what block that was in. I assume not C, since it seems Verizon got most of that.
What do you think of Frontier and might this be, since they also own Dish Network, a newcomer to the broadband scene? I hope so. The top dogs in this race could sure use the competition. Especially Comcast, though since they’ve painted a target on themselves and handed the FCC a gun, they may find their monopoly in certain areas a casualty of their own loose cannon.
Echostar winning is a very good thing, made possible — I believe — only because of anonymous bidding.
Based on the licenses, this looks primarily like enhancing video competition rather than broadband, because of the rules governing E Block. However, the FCC has changed the re rules in the past (for example, for the spectrum Aloha won before), and may do so again. But even then, this is a relatively small slice for something that can compete with DSL or cable. They would need to pair it with other spectrum.