spectrum

Google may be grabbing the spotlight in the upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum, but it's not the only nontraditional player that wants a valuable piece of the airwaves.

The Federal Communications late Tuesday released the names of applicants that plan to bid in the much-anticipated January auction, and Google competitors may include cable operator Cablevision, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, and satellite TV provider EchoStar.

That Google was among the 266 companies filing an application by the December 3 deadline was no surprise. Google said earlier this year that it was willing to put up at least $4.6 billion for licenses … Read more

Monday was the deadline to submit applications for a chance to bid on the 700MHz spectrum auction scheduled for January, and the lineup is taking shape.

Google, Cox Communications, Frontline Wireless, and AT&T all appear to have submitted an application Monday for a chance to bid on the spectrum, which is set to be freed up with the Federal Communication Commission's decision to move everyone to digital television in 2009. The 700MHz band is sought by companies that wish to build wireless voice and data networks, and is probably the last time for a while that such … Read more

Google is lining up financing to bid on wireless spectrum in the Federal Communication Commission's upcoming 700MHz auction, and it's already built a small high-speed wireless network at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to test out what it could do with the spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Journal cited sources saying the company is planning on bidding in the auction, set to take place early next year. Google has obtained a test license from the FCC that it's using to test technology on a small wireless network on its campus, the article said. … Read more

Verizon Wireless' court fight against new federal rules that require "open access" on some forthcoming wireless networks appears to be no more.

The No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier on Tuesday filed for "voluntary dismissal" of its September petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to the court docket. The filing for dismissal was reported earlier Wednesday by Dow Jones/Associated Press.

At issue are Federal Communications Commission rules for an upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum, also known as the analog television band. That band is scheduled to … Read more

WASHINGTON--A dispute that could affect the roll-out of broadband over power lines, which some hope will one day compete with cable and DSL services, went before a federal appeals court on Tuesday, but no immediate resolution occurred.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments from attorneys for the Federal Communications Commission and the American Radio Relay League, which represents amateur radio operators, about FCC rules aimed at allowing BPL services to flourish.

Therein lies the dispute: The FCC says its rules, which date back to 2004, have struck the right balance between encouraging unlicensed … Read more

First, federal regulators rejected a start-up's bid to gain exclusive access to unused radio spectrum in order to offer a partially free wireless broadband network.

Now, as promised, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking formal public comment on whether it would make sense to permit the sort of scheme proposed by Silicon Valley-based M2Z Networks or others that previously expressed interest in operating a slice of the 2.1 GHz band.

The FCC also wants to know what sort of technological approaches should be allowed on that spectrum and whether it should auction the spectrum, offer it on an … Read more