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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pcstel who wrote (19962)	3/5/2002 10:15:54 PM
From: Keith Feral	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 196650

I understand your point that there is spectrum that Metro could lease to AWE. Where is the 30 MHZ of spectrum that they possess in these markets? Is it in the MMDS 2500-2690 MHZ spectrum range? That's the only range of spectrum that is not currently occupied specified for 3G mobile services that is not currently occupied. NextWave has made a point of telling people they plan on leasing spectrum for 3G. They call themselves a "carrier's carrier." IMO, it would be much easier for carriers to buy themselves the whole ball of wax (spectrum, infrastructure, and handsets) by making some fast bids for these companies - Metro and Leap would be at the top of the list. CDMA & GSM companies would have an equal interest in such a move. Too bad that Verizon choked up $1.8 billion in cash for the NextWave spectrum that is now under lock and chain. For $16 billion, you would think the Supreme Court would give this case as much priority as the Presidential fiasco. However, since it has dramatically enhanced the value of existing spectrum, the whole issue is not a complete loss. The only people that need 10 MHZ of spectrum for high speed Internet are ATT and Cingular to upgrade GSM/GPRS to WCDMA. They are kinda busy right now with the replacement of their TDMA networks with GSM/GPRS networks. They won't need the other 10 MHZ until the end of 2003 or 2004. The rest of the market only needs 2 1.25 MHZ carriers (2.5 MHZ) for CDMA1XEV DV and CDMA1xEV DO carriers over the next 2 years. Verizon has said they will not need to tap the additional carrier until next year. I'm not sure what PCS has up it's sleeve. They are remarkably lean, which leads me to think they would not be adverse to some deal in the next year. I do not rule out the potential synergy for a GSM1X union between PCS and another company down the road, since GSM will become the dual mode default standard (like analog today) as GSM/GPRS networks can upgrade to GSM1X or GSM/GPRS/WCDMA.