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Google Ready to Bid on 700 MHz
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Wed Aug 22, 2007 04:44 PM
from the protecting-your-interests dept.
from the protecting-your-interests dept.
Seppanen Style writes "The 700MHz spectrum auction looks like it's going to be heated. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has all but confirmed that Google will make a play for the spectrum that will be on offer next January. 'In effect, this could give Google control of the entire pipe between customers and Google servers, a move that could be very good for business strategy, even if the wireless network is not a major profit center. Companies never like to be at the mercy of other companies, and Google is no exception.'"
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Submission: Google to stick it to telcos, bid on 700MHz by Anonymous Coward
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Mobile: Google Plans to Bid 4.6 Billion on 700MHz Band 148 comments
NickCatal writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google plans to bid $4.6 Billion on the 700 MHz radio spectrum being auctioned off by the FCC. What is most interesting is that they are not planning on partnering with other companies to raise the cash, they are going to spend their own cash and possibly borrow some. With partners such as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in their 'Open Handset Alliance' is this a sign that they are willing to directly compete with the people they courted to join?"
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700 MHz? (Score:5, Funny)
Great, maybe we will see some money this auction. (Score:2, Interesting)
What you mean we Kemosabe? (Score:5, Interesting)
Not that I want an Democratic administration to have the money either.
Hmm... don't Australians have topless beach, beer, grilled shrimp and beer?
Parent
Does anyone know? (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone know 2? (Score:2)
Private spectrum is not really any different to any other kinds of lock-in.
Re:Does anyone know 2? (Score:5, Interesting)
From the Summary
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Re:Does anyone know? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been thinking about this, and I don't think they need to convince anyone.
I mean, yes, I'd expect them to use the wireless spectrum to give them a "last mile" connection to all that dark fiber they've been buying up. But I think they'll also hook it up to the conventional Internet, and keep it truly network neutral. Once that's in place, AT&T can packet shape youTube all they want; all that will happen is that the best route will be via Google's fiber and AT&T will lose money because they won't be peering so much data.
If Google do this right, AT&T will have to stay network neutral just to stay in the game. It'll be typical Google; altruistic on the surface, with a business strategy behind it. It's going to be interesting to see how this issue develops :)
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Offtoic, sure... (Score:5, Insightful)
Kudos to them, I say.
Re: (Score:2)
billions and billions of dollars (Score:2, Interesting)
Google has many multiple billions in cash, and can always raise more.
vs.
The entire sucky telecom industry.
Not only that, but Google ace is open-standards.
May the best bidder win, and I hope it is open standards.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
May GOOGLE win it. Even if they do absolutely nothing with it and just sit around using the paperwork as toliet paper, it's a fair cry better than letting the rapidly reforming Mother Bell have a hand over it.
Stuff like this makes me want to break out the Christmas fund and invest in Google
Looks like it's going to be heated (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Google wireless (Score:5, Insightful)
$29.95/mo 3G wireless internet w/ basic voice plan.
Free text. because paying for text when it costs the telco so little needs to stop.
Bluetooth data access that actually works.
If they can achieve that (by 2009, not too hard), the phone system is done.
Only problem? the cell towers.
Re: (Score:2)
Once they have regulatory backing, cell towers are no biggie. Modern honeycomb towers are fairly inexpensive to build, and are also fairly unobtrusive -- all Google needs to do is lease a few million rooftops, which shouldn't be too difficult (especially if they throw in free access as a park).
The hard part will be rural coverage.
Re: (Score:2)
If they build the container datacenters at the cross-connects of the dark fibre they own, as has been rumored, put the rural tower on that.
Done.
Google should hire us.
Leasing rooftops is hard (Score:5, Interesting)
In my neighborhood, the Metricom wireless network of yore (fairly cheap flat-rate 50 - 100k service, ubiquitous in the SF Bay Area in the 90s) was not available in my town, because the NIMBYs wouldn't allow it. Lot's of other towns with the same bad attitude as mine.
"Are you radio transmissions going to give my babies cancer?"
"I dunno - now, how many packs a day do they smoke?"
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Actually, it will be VERY difficult (Score:4, Interesting)
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Anti-trust (Score:2)
Re:Actually, it will be VERY difficult (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Google wireless (Score:4, Funny)
Here's what I want:
$29.95/mo unlimited telepathy+teleportation
If they can achieve that the phone system is done. So is the airline industry. Probably the education system as well.
Only problem? We have no idea how to do it.
OH! Forgot something. I'd also like a pony [i-want-a-pony.com].
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
My SERO Plan:
$30/month
Unlimited data, EVDO rev. 0, rev. A when it is out. (I bought the HTC Mogul)
Unlimited text (promotion until 9/29, probably extended).
500 minutes, 7PM nights & weekends
I Bet Google Will Lose (Score:2)
I'm very interested in hearing how others think it will play out.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I think they have the money.
Re:I Bet Google Will Lose (Score:5, Informative)
The telecoms:
AT&T: $242 billion
Sprint: $53 billion
Deutsche Telekom (they own T-Mobile): $79 billion
Verizon: $121 billion
Versus:
Google: $160 billion
Luckily, there's more to this game than pure market caps. Google is probably better able to raise cash, and may also have more cash on hand, than the telcoms. On the other hand, though, you have companies that have been around for a long time, and are fairly good at getting what they want. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the auction. A Google win would be awesome, but the actual event should turn out interesting as well.
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Google will win (Score:5, Interesting)
They can go in and undercut everyone to bring some sanity to the cellphone market.
Paying to text is absurd. Paying to send email is absurd.
They will probably come in with some kind of deal where you pay for voice and everything else is free. Given their infrastructure, they can probably pull that off.
If they go GSM with some advanced, high-speed data underneath. They will win, big time.
Get the google quint-band phone with GSM (700Mhz, 850 MHz, 900Mhz, 1.8Ghz, 1.9Ghz), bluetooth, cameraphone with automatic youtube and picasa updates. Total market ownage.
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I pray Google will lose (Score:2)
For all their foibles, the telcos are regulated, at least in some sense of the word -- either by laws or by competition. Google doesn't like laws or competition. They'd love to acquire another monopoly they can leverage.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Google isn't worried about competition, they're worried about being locked out.
Re: (Score:2)
Let's put a note on our calendars to touch base in one year and see how it plays out.
Re: (Score:2)
Seems sensible (Score:5, Interesting)
It seems reasonable to assume they would make a bid, even without the four openness rules - after all, if they win they can make their own openness rules, and if they don't win, it costs them nothing.
Market cap... (Score:4, Informative)
It's not a problem for them.
Parent
Re:Market cap of competitors? (Score:2)
Estimates? (Score:3, Insightful)
Eple (Score:2)
(Phone rings) "Hello?"
"Yeah it's me... I wanna give you some good frequencies; 1710, 2.6, 2245..."
"Yeah"
"3032, 700"
(Surprised) "Seven hundred?!"
"Yeah."
"I'm coming right over."
"Do that."
"I'll be there in two seconds"
(Later)
"You bastard! You sold me 700 Terahertz!"
"That'll teach you to be more careful with your units next time."
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, but then they own the color purple. Take that, Alice Walker.
The real question... (Score:2)
Bargaining position? (Score:5, Insightful)
The telcos have something that Google wants: unfettered and maybe even exclusive access to their users. Telcos however are notorious for their habit of restricting their devices' access to services that net them more profit. Google knows that and knows that wireless devices may be tomorrow's prime mean of accessing the Internet. If this were to happen, search and content providers would have to strike very onerous deals with telcos in order to maintain access to their clientele.
As a result, the FCC's decision not to require open access to the Internet for users of the 700Mhz spectrum threatens to put Google's future in the hands of the telcos.
The menace to enter the telcos' market strenghtens Google's barganing position because
a) Google has the money to make good on that threat and may chose to do so as a defensive measure
b) the telcos need that spectrum a lot more than Google does.
I wouldn't be surprised to hear in the coming months that Google has struck many major long term deals with several telcos and has finally decided to bow out of the auction.
Re:Bargaining position? (Score:5, Insightful)
In the end, they'll just have to put out a device on the standard.
Now, they definitely could use that spectrum to actually create a last mile connection network. As they are rumored to already own a bunch of dark fiber, they would have a top to bottom network infrastructure. Enough to scare the telcos. Maybe Google will enter that market to ensure a free (as in unrestricted) connection to their customers. Maybe they'll just stick to online service and enter devices on a free network. The uncertainty will push the telcos to bid higher and they certainly don't have as much cash laying around as Google does...
Parent
Also would be good for the internet, and freedom (Score:2)
Mercy of other companies? (Score:2)
In my experience companies are perfectly happy to be at the mercy of other companies. It's hardly unknown for a company to source software products from a single company, for example, with no easy migration path to any other product.
Perhaps Google is the exception after all.
advertising (Score:4, Funny)
Phone Rings
Husband: Hey honey, What do want for dinner tonight?
Wife: How about some chicken?
Husband: That sounds good, how about some popeyes?
Wife: That sounds good, or we could ...
recording interrupting....
Recording: (uber-cheerfully) I hear you're looking for chicken in your area.... I'd just like to let you know that there's a KFC on The corner of Campbell and Howard. There is also a popeyes on the corner of vero beach and tracy, a KFC on the corner of
Husband: Shut up!!! I know where the chicken places are, I live here.
Recording: juno and tibedeau and there's a popeyes at 945 Main
Wife: just let it finish.
Recording: Street and there's a Publix at 177 center street.
husband: Damn Google and this cheap phone service. I can't even have a conversation anymore.
Recording: I heard google, Would you like to look something up? Perhaps how to buy 'conversations' on E-bay?
bittorent (Score:3, Interesting)
will the "do no evil" moto have to change then?
Do SOME good, and people like you complain (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey, better yet, why don't they convince the UN to send peacekeepers to Darfur? Why don't they fund alternative energy research? I'm sure they have enough money to get a fusion research lab up and running. Why don't they fight cancer?
The problem is even if they did set up a lab to do research with the intent of "fighting cancer", some asshole like you would complain they're not fighting AIDS.
Anyone who wants to fight to do good in this world only has limited resources to work with, as such, one must pick their battles. Taking on the crooked telco companies is worthy enough for me.
Parent
Re:Do SOME good, and people like you complain (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Most of their shareholders support GWB
Not really (Score:5, Interesting)
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I disagree, slightly.. (Score:4, Interesting)
But the dark fibre...
Yes, no doubt, perhaps used to connect wireless broadcasting centers to each other, but also, my speculation is that it's going to be used for television. Google is an advertising company. For the forseeable future, there is no bigger advertising medium than Television. True, the major networks upfronts were lower this year than in the past, but that's only because the rise of original content on cable networks has created more premium content for advertisers to buy into.
Google is going to need massive bandwidth to build a next-gen network for TV advertising. Perhaps even one day using the Overlay technology it's deploying on YouTube. Time shifting is here to stay. Advertising is here to stay. I suspect the latter will adapt to the former, and overlays seem a pretty likely candidate.
Who has the technology, bandwidth, ad sales teams, and capital to make it all work?
Parent
Much more than that (Score:5, Interesting)
Buying up the 700MHz band will make them, in the US, own the "Where Joe is coming from". A mountain of dark fiber they've been purchasing lately will supply the infrastructure to connect side A to side B.
Together, these are worth more than the sum of their parts. Coupled, rather than Google wanting to hookup to tier-1 ISP's, it will be tier-1 ISP's who will be jumping through hoops to get closer to the wirelessgoogle plate.
They seem to be using the momentum of their products to try and catch a rather big chunk of the internet backbone and haul it right up onto their own back (just the bit that involves peoples traffic going to them). Quite admirable in its own right, if they manage to pull it off.
Rather than bean-counting and looking for a direct profit, a move like that would reposition them in an entirely different league of players, give them way more power, regulation leverage and later translate into an insanely bigger profits.
I'm eager to see if they manage to pull this off, if for the sheer ability to outsmart all of the established competition for that power. And frankly, even without them being holier than the bloody pope, I'd much rather have them have it than any other player their size.
Parent