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700MHz: Google vs Cable Companies vs Telco Operators

An article of Forbes “Google's Wireless World” predict that the wireless industry is sure to get a big boost of adrenaline if the Internet giant wins a coveted slice of wireless spectrum that will go up for sale later this month.

Analysts say new services and devices would get to market faster if Google controls the spectrum than if a phone company or mobile operator manages it. "If Google wins, there's a sense that the mobile Internet is really going to happen now," says IDC analyst Scott Ellison.

Indeed, Google convinced the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will begin auctioning the 700MHz spectrum Jan. 24, 2008 to open up this portion of the airwaves to all hardware and software developers -- not just those that have exclusive agreements with the carriers.

As a result, "The future is bright for handset makers, regardless" of who wins the auction, says Craig Mathias, a principal at wireless consulting firm Farpoint Group. "Handheld tablets are going to become more popular. You'll see a diversity of handsets."

On the other hand, if the cable companies get shut out, it could be a blow for the future of the industry, says Amol Sarva, chief executive of New York City-based mobile start-up txtbl.

Though Time Warner Cable President and Chief Executive Glenn Britt recently downplayed the importance of "quadruple-play" bundles--high-speed data, land line, TV and wireless services -- many analysts believe that cable companies needs a wireless offering to keep residential customers. "The cable guys need coverage or they won't have a business in a few years," Sarva says.

What is the impact if the telco companies ("Phoning In Wireless Dreams.") win the auction? If a telco win, it could have implications not only on mobile Internet, but for satellite TV, as well. Winning spectrum would allow paid-TV outfits to expand beyond video into broadband Internet or voice-over-Internet-protocol services.

Losing out on that opportunity can only help the carriers. "If AT&T and Verizon start taking customers, it will be from the satellite companies," says Rory Altman, director of wireless consulting firm Altman Vilandrie & Co.

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