Alltel, MetroPCS hint at 700 MHz plans

[TNDan21]

Alltel, MetroPCS hint at 700 MHz plans
By Kelly Hill
Story posted: May 30, 2007 - 1:05 pm EDT

Alltel Corp. made clear its interest in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction in filings with the Federal Communications Commission, and requested that the commission avoid plans to set aside a chunk of the spectrum for a national private/public-safety network and make sure that smaller regional licenses are available for bidding.

“Alltel is very interested in the upcoming 700 MHz auction and the enormous potential of the 700 MHz spectrum to bring innovative new services to rural areas given the exceptional propagation characteristics of this band,” the company said in its filing. Alltel went on to encourage the FCC to structure the auction with multiple license blocks of at least 11 megahertz and small geographic areas—particularly Cellular Market Areas, which split the country into more than 700 separate licenses. The smaller licenses will encourage rural deployments, Alltel argued. The company also said it favored completely open bidding for the auction rather than limitations on bidding information. The wireless pure-play company also suggested that the FCC “should consider imposing ‘bid premiums’ in this auction on bidders affiliated with incumbent local exchange carriers that hold significant CMRS [commercial mobile radio service] spectrum.”

Alltel also urged the FCC to ignore a “last-minute, self-serving” plan from Frontline Wireless L.L.C., which calls for the commission to set aside a 10-megahertz block in the upper 700 MHz band for a national commercial license, with the caveat that a buyer must build and operate an interoperable broadband network to be shared by public-safety users.

In other auction-related news, MetroPCS Communications Inc. noted in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its wholly owned subsidiary, MetroPCS Wireless Inc., plans to make a private offering of notes up to $300 million in principal, expected to close in June. In addition to up to $1 billion in notes offered last fall, the company said the funds would be used for general corporate purposes, “which could include financing participation in and acquisition of additional spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming 700 MHz auction.”

http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...0006/1002/FREE

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by TNDan21

Alltel, MetroPCS hint at 700 MHz plans
By Kelly Hill
Story posted: May 30, 2007 - 1:05 pm EDT

Alltel Corp. made clear its interest in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction in filings with the Federal Communications Commission, and requested that the commission avoid plans to set aside a chunk of the spectrum for a national private/public-safety network and make sure that smaller regional licenses are available for bidding.

“Alltel is very interested in the upcoming 700 MHz auction and the enormous potential of the 700 MHz spectrum to bring innovative new services to rural areas given the exceptional propagation characteristics of this band,” the company said in its filing. Alltel went on to encourage the FCC to structure the auction with multiple license blocks of at least 11 megahertz and small geographic areas—particularly Cellular Market Areas, which split the country into more than 700 separate licenses. The smaller licenses will encourage rural deployments, Alltel argued. The company also said it favored completely open bidding for the auction rather than limitations on bidding information. The wireless pure-play company also suggested that the FCC “should consider imposing ‘bid premiums’ in this auction on bidders affiliated with incumbent local exchange carriers that hold significant CMRS [commercial mobile radio service] spectrum.”

I am really suprised at what Alltel said, I really thought they would prefer area's they don't have to become a National provider, instead of staying a rural carrier, unless the private equities decide different now that they will own Alltel.
Unless they want the bigger carriers to go after the rural area's & allow them better access to the cities?

[NokiaKrazy]

Is this a bit of reverse psychology?

[strunke]

Maybe Alltel is looking to swap some 800 licenses in some areas and just go with 700. I don't know. I'm glad that they are going to be competing in it though.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by NokiaKrazy

Is this a bit of reverse psychology?

This is very possible, there's really no reason why Alltel would need more than 25 MHz in the 850 band to bring better service to rural areas. But I also see the logic, if the auction were split into many more markets, if Alltel were more concerned about expanding into some rural areas moreso than some metro areas.

If you think about it, expanding into Western North Carolina, Central Tennessee, or Northern Georgia could be done with the smallest investment since Alltel already has networks near those areas already. Training techs, supplying stores, etc. could be done much easier and efficiently.

However, I also think you're correct to an extent. Why worry about these more rural areas when what Alltel needs is more big city licenses to solidy their place in the wireless industry and become a national provider. The same can be said for Metro both in many other metro markets as well as rural areas. I am also inclined to agree that smaller licenses will encourage rural developement and make more sense. If you get a license covering such a large area, why worry about the rural areas until much later on. It will also give Alltel, Metro, and all other smaller providers a much better chance to successfully win auctions and all these competing bidders would probably also raise the total revenue generated from the auction.