2008 Woodie Awards
Frequency auction will shape future of communication
David Fetters
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: OpEd Page
While recent news coverage has focused on the battles waging for the presidency and for the Super Bowl, there is another battle being waged that could define what the next era of wireless communications becomes. The battle began Jan. 24, with the opening of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) auctions for the much hyped 700Mhz span of the radio spectrum. More than 200 companies registered for the auction, including telecom giants Verizon and AT&T. As of Friday, the bids totaled more than $18 billion (although the identity of the bidders is still secret, per FCC regulations), about $7 billion more than the total of the reserve prices set by the FCC. Making its first foray into telecommunications, Google is also taking part in the auction, spurring the curiosity of investors and hardware manufacturers everywhere.
In the decades since the first radio broadcasts, the FCC has carved the electromagnetic spectrum into many discrete blocks. AM radio occupies the frequencies between 535Khz and 1.7Mhz, while FM stations are located between 88 and 108Mhz. The microwave in your kitchen generates radio waves at the FCC mandated frequency of 2450Mhz.
FCC control over the airwaves is designed to prevent manufacturers from producing devices that harmfully interfered with the services of another company. Some churches and theaters tried (illegally) to use radio-jamming equipment to prevent cellular phone calls when inside the building. Imagine the scenario where a television station broadcasts white noise over the signal of a competing station.
The 700Mhz region is important to telecom providers for the same reason it was useful to television broadcasters. Lower frequencies travel greater distances and through more physical material than higher frequencies (with the added bonus of requiring less energy to transmit). An FM station might not make it into an underground parking lot that a lower frequency AM station could.
The most important and controversial part of the 700Mhz spectrum up for sale is referred to as the "C Block." It has the potential to provide true broadband wireless Internet access over large distances or provide a broadband media distribution service to handheld devices. The FCC has stipulated that the purchaser of the license must meet the $4.6 billion reserve price and ensure that their network be "open to any devices and services."
In the decades since the first radio broadcasts, the FCC has carved the electromagnetic spectrum into many discrete blocks. AM radio occupies the frequencies between 535Khz and 1.7Mhz, while FM stations are located between 88 and 108Mhz. The microwave in your kitchen generates radio waves at the FCC mandated frequency of 2450Mhz.
FCC control over the airwaves is designed to prevent manufacturers from producing devices that harmfully interfered with the services of another company. Some churches and theaters tried (illegally) to use radio-jamming equipment to prevent cellular phone calls when inside the building. Imagine the scenario where a television station broadcasts white noise over the signal of a competing station.
The 700Mhz region is important to telecom providers for the same reason it was useful to television broadcasters. Lower frequencies travel greater distances and through more physical material than higher frequencies (with the added bonus of requiring less energy to transmit). An FM station might not make it into an underground parking lot that a lower frequency AM station could.
The most important and controversial part of the 700Mhz spectrum up for sale is referred to as the "C Block." It has the potential to provide true broadband wireless Internet access over large distances or provide a broadband media distribution service to handheld devices. The FCC has stipulated that the purchaser of the license must meet the $4.6 billion reserve price and ensure that their network be "open to any devices and services."
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