Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (10280)	1/27/2001 2:30:28 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 12823

US spectrum auction raises record $16.8bn. "The bidding comes close to the sky-high prices paid in the so-called Third Generation auctions last year in the UK and Germany, which were conducted at the height of the global stock market euphoria over mobile companies." US spectrum auction raises record $16.8bn By Tally Goldstein and Richard Waters in New York Published: January 26 2001 19:31GMT \| Last Updated: January 27 2001 01:04GMT US mobile telecoms companies are set to pay a record $16.86bn for new wireless licences following a scramble for spectrum in the country's first big auction since the mid-1990s. The bidding comes close to the sky-high prices paid in the so-called Third Generation auctions last year in the UK and Germany, which were conducted at the height of the global stock market euphoria over mobile companies. Since then, wireless stocks have fallen heavily, including in the US, on concern about the effects of competition and the cost of developing new high-speed internet services. Those concerns did little to dent bidding in the US, however, reflecting an acute scarcity of free spectrum for mobile companies to use. "There are no big chunks of clear spectrum left over the US," said John Bensche, telecoms analyst at Lehman Brothers. The Federal Communications Commission is considering a second auction in the coming weeks, and a separate Third Generation auction late next year, but all spectrum under consideration is already in use and not immediatly available. Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile company, dominated the bidding, winning 113 of the 422 licences on offer and agreeing to pay $8.78bn. The company is 45 per cent-owned by Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile comapny. Controversy over the way in which big companies like Verizon won their licences could lead to a spate of legal actions, warned Robin Lochner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank in New York. Most of their successful bids were made through small companies that they either control or are affiliated with. These arrangements allowed them to make bids their small peers could never carry, as well as benefit from special discounts from the Federal Communications Commission, which had been offered to encourage small companies to take part in the auctions. Vodafone's involvement may have played a role in driving the US bidding to such levels, one analyst said. "They have the most aggressive posture of anyone in the world in terms of spectrum, and they might have brought some of that to the US," Mr Bensche said. Overall, the successful bidders agreed to pay $4.18 for each megahertz of spectrum to reach each potential customer covered by the licences. That compares with a price of $4.30 paid in the UK last year and $4.60 in Germany, according to Mr Bensche. Among other big bidders, companies affiliated with AT&T Wireless spent $2.89bn and Cingular Wireless spent nearly $2.35bn. Licence prices fluctuated wildly depending on how attractive the markets were, with Verizon paying more than $100 per potential customer in New York City compared with a national average of about $3 per potential customer.

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (10280)	1/27/2001 2:34:04 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Wireless, data boost SBC. ZO, where is the real money? Well, maybe we will have wireless subsidizing those ADSL lines out there!!! Wireless, data boost SBC By Thania Markes and Richard Waters in New York Published: January 25 2001 17:34GMT \| Last Updated: January 26 2001 00:50GMT A jump in wireless and data services helped SBC Communications, the second largest US local telecoms company, to increase fourth-quarter earnings by 5.6 per cent, in line with expectations. The results reflect the first full quarter to include long-distance service in Texas and contributions from Cingular Wireless, its mobile phone joint venture with BellSouth. ... The company was less successful in the high-speed internet market, reaching 767,000 customers for its DSL service by the end of the year - less than the 1m target it had set. news.ft.com