A report from Dow Jones says incumbent carriers might be less inclined to bid on the C Block--which has some "open access" provisions on it--in the upcoming 700 MHz auction than previously thought. The report, citing an anonymous carrier executive source, claims that the auction rules do not allow the winning bidder of the C-Block spectrum to add it to an existing network. The winning bidder must build a new network for it.
I don't buy it. Spectrum in general, let alone 700 MHz spectrum that has significant propagation advantages, is a valuable commodity to mobile operators. Plus, why would incumbents want to let a company like Google enter their grounds?
For more about the 700 MHz auction:
- read this article from Dow Jones