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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Big mobile-phone companies, satellite-TV providers and cable operators are expected to dominate the federal auction of wireless spectrum that begins Wednesday.
Winners of the bidding are expected to use the newly available airwaves for high-speed Internet service or to fill in gaps in existing wireless networks. The auction, held by the Federal Communications Commission, could raise between $10 billion to $15 billion, analysts say.
The FCC plans to sell 1,122 licenses across the country for spectrum previously used by law-enforcement personnel and the U.S. military. The bidding is likely to take at least a month before the auction concludes.
Before the auction began, companies were required to make upfront bids signaling their intent. The largest bidders were satellite rivals DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp.
Which teamed up to bid $972 million through a new venture called Wireless DBS.
The second largest bidder, SpectrumCo LLC, represents a consortium that includes Sprint Nextel Corp and the nation's three largest cable-television companies: Comcast Corp.
Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. That group placed nearly $638 million in bids.
T-Mobile USA Inc., the nation's No. 4 wireless phone carrier, was the third highest bidder at almost $584 million. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom.
Other mobile operators making bids include Cingular Wireless ($500 million), Verizon Wireless ($383 million) and Leap Wireless ($255 million). Cingular is owned by AT&T Inc.
While the bids of the various companies are a matter of public record, their intentions are not. Most companies have been cagy when it comes to explaining what they plan to do with the spectrum or how much they will actually bid.
What is clear, though, is that speedy wireless access to the Internet is a key driver in the plans of most bidders.
T-Mobile, for instance, needs more spectrum to offer fast wireless Internet so it can keep up with its larger rivals. The auction is viewed as crucial to the company's future growth.
The satellite companies, for their part, are vulnerable because of their lack of inexpensive broadband access. Increasingly, consumers tend to buy all of their communications services -- phone calling, Internet access, TV and even wireless -- from just one provider in the form of a discounted bundle. That puts DirecTV and EchoStar, which operates the Dish Network, at a disadvantage.
Their cable archrivals, meanwhile, have teamed up with Sprint to purchase more wireless spectrum. Some cable companies already use Sprint's long-distance network to haul cable-phone traffic. They also may use Sprint's wireless network to market wireless service to their TV customers as part of a bundle.
The nation's two largest wireless operators, Cingular and Verizon, are probably less in need of new spectrum, but they may buy some licenses to boost their presence in areas where they lack sufficient coverage
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Big mobile-phone companies, satellite-TV providers and cable operators are expected to dominate the federal auction of wireless spectrum that begins Wednesday.
Winners of the bidding are expected to use the newly available airwaves for high-speed Internet service or to fill in gaps in existing wireless networks. The auction, held by the Federal Communications Commission, could raise between $10 billion to $15 billion, analysts say.
The FCC plans to sell 1,122 licenses across the country for spectrum previously used by law-enforcement personnel and the U.S. military. The bidding is likely to take at least a month before the auction concludes.
Before the auction began, companies were required to make upfront bids signaling their intent. The largest bidders were satellite rivals DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp.
Which teamed up to bid $972 million through a new venture called Wireless DBS.
The second largest bidder, SpectrumCo LLC, represents a consortium that includes Sprint Nextel Corp and the nation's three largest cable-television companies: Comcast Corp.
Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. That group placed nearly $638 million in bids.
T-Mobile USA Inc., the nation's No. 4 wireless phone carrier, was the third highest bidder at almost $584 million. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom.
Other mobile operators making bids include Cingular Wireless ($500 million), Verizon Wireless ($383 million) and Leap Wireless ($255 million). Cingular is owned by AT&T Inc.
While the bids of the various companies are a matter of public record, their intentions are not. Most companies have been cagy when it comes to explaining what they plan to do with the spectrum or how much they will actually bid.
What is clear, though, is that speedy wireless access to the Internet is a key driver in the plans of most bidders.
T-Mobile, for instance, needs more spectrum to offer fast wireless Internet so it can keep up with its larger rivals. The auction is viewed as crucial to the company's future growth.
The satellite companies, for their part, are vulnerable because of their lack of inexpensive broadband access. Increasingly, consumers tend to buy all of their communications services -- phone calling, Internet access, TV and even wireless -- from just one provider in the form of a discounted bundle. That puts DirecTV and EchoStar, which operates the Dish Network, at a disadvantage.
Their cable archrivals, meanwhile, have teamed up with Sprint to purchase more wireless spectrum. Some cable companies already use Sprint's long-distance network to haul cable-phone traffic. They also may use Sprint's wireless network to market wireless service to their TV customers as part of a bundle.
The nation's two largest wireless operators, Cingular and Verizon, are probably less in need of new spectrum, but they may buy some licenses to boost their presence in areas where they lack sufficient coverage
