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AT&T, Verizon Will Dominate New Airwaves

Posted Mar 21, 08 1:37 PM CDT in Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – AT&T and Verizon were the two top bidders in the airwaves auction that ended this week, representing 80% of the FCC’s record $19.6 billion haul and positioning themselves to offer advanced wireless Internet services, reports the Wall Street Journal. Google, sans licenses, was another winner, gaining open access to a chunk of spectrum that mostly went to Verizon.

Verizon also agreed before the auction ended to open its network to outside devices. AT&T won 227 spectrum licenses around the country for $6.6 billion, while Verizon got 109 licenses for $9.4 billion. The auction didn’t produce any major new entrants, though Dish Network acquired a significant share of licenses. Auction winners must not discuss their plans for the spectrum before early April.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Buildings on Market Street are seen reflected in a Verizon sign in Philadelphia, in this April 30, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
The logo of Google, seen on the front door of the new Google Engineering center in Zurich, Switzerland, in this March 6, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Walter Bier, file)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin speaks during a hearing on localism, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the FCC headquarters in Washington.   (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The AT&T logo is seen on one of it's buildings in San Antonio, Monday, April 23, 2007.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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Google • FCC • Verizon • cell phone industry • AT&T • wireless industry • spectrum auction • mobile Internet


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