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Technology Stocks : CellularVision (CVUS): 2-way LMDS wireless cable. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steven Bowen who wrote (976)	2/3/1998 1:59:00 PM
From: James Fink	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2063

Going Once...Wireless Auction Makes Spy Game Of Phone Bids By Brian Steinberg NEW YORK (Dow Jones)-- The Federal Communications Commission is auctioning off licenses that allow for the transmission of phone calls through microwaves. Should a single player garner enough of the stakes, companies already building a reputation in the burgeoning local wireless phone service market - namely WinStar Communications Inc. (WCII) and Teligent Inc. (TGNT) - could face new and unwanted rivals. Because of the fierce competition in the wireless phone industry, companies are trying to keep their identities hidden during the bidding so not to tip off their strategy to the other players. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Find out who wants what. "Everyone is using a nom de guerre to bid," said Simon Rose, a partner at the New York brokerage firm Prime Charter Ltd., "and there certainly are a tremendous amount of bidders." What's up for bid are licenses in the 28GHz microwave spectrum in 493 markets. A company can bid for as many licenses as it wants. Teligent's holdings are chiefly in the 24GHz band, while WinStar's are in the 38GHz band. Rose believes the auction could fetch as much as $4 billion when the dust clears. "It will be fun to see who's behind all the bidding," said Richard Mastain, who manages a $20 million hedge fund for Twenty-First Century Advisors in Park City, Utah. "It's like beachfront property. There's only so much of this." Bidders had to put money down Monday, which industry observers view as the only true sign of interest. The current list of entrants reads like a spy manual. Names of well-known players are slotted next to those who prefer bidding from under a veil of secrecy. WinStar is there, under the name WinStar LMDS. Rival Teligent prefers to use the acronym AUCO, which a company spokesman said stood for "Auction Company." Baby Bells SBC Communications Inc. (SBC) and U S West Communications Group Inc. (USW) are present, as are cable leader Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) and cable upstart RCN Corp. (RCNC). One popular rumor holds that entrant "Nextband Communications" is actually an alliance of Nextlink Communications Inc. (NXLK) and cellular-telephone pioneer Craig McCaw. Another theorizes that even Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is present, under the name MSM Inc. Here's a surprise - MSM is bidding on all the licenses available. The company couldn't comment immediately. Spokesmen for both Teligent and WinStar would say little, except that they were involved. But neither company appears likely to spend great sums of money unless the licenses have some strategic value. After all, both already boast wide-ranging service areas. Twenty-First Century's Mastain said the auction will help investors get a true sense of what the wireless phone companies are worth. Once the market knows how the competition shapes up, it will be able to assign a more certain value to Teligent, he said. "Nothing is a sure thing, but in this market, with so much volatility and so much uncertainty, we love a situation like this," he said. "The auction will help place a value and give you some downside protection." Although the bidding and final awarding of licenses could take several weeks, rumors of who's in the game should end soon. An FCC spokeswoman said the bidders' true identities could be posted on the organization's Web page by the end of the week.