Intel Capital was among the winners of Sweden's auction of he 2.6 GHz band, acquiring 50 MHz of TDD spectrum for $26.5 million. According to local press reports, Intel is seeking partners to build and operate a WiMAX network. The company, which recently plunked down $1 billion in the new Sprint-Clearwire WiMAX business, reportedly plans to rent out the license to partners rather than sell it.
Intel has made it clear the it isn't interested in becoming a service provider to push WiMAX. As part of the Clearwire deal, Intel has the option of wholesaling service from the new operator, but Intel Vice President Sriram Viswanathan told analysts that the company's primary focus "is to enable the platform to have WiMAX available across a variety of devices. You have to expect we're going to be primarily a technology supplier."
The other winners for 2.6 GHz spectrum, which is technology and service neutral, each acquired FDD allocations: H3G Access (2x10 MHz), Tele2 (2x20 MHz), Telenor (2x20 MHz) and TeliaSonera Mobile Networks (2x20 MHz).
TeliaSonera paid the most for its license, $93 million, while Intel paid the least. H3G Access, with only 20 MHz of spectrum, paid $49 million.
To read more about Sweden's 2.6 GHz auction:
- take a look at this telecoms.com article
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