C-Block Auction Opening Gets Mixed Reception

The FCC's March 23 re-auction of PCS licenses met with mixed reactions in the industry.

"The entire C-block issue can be summed up in three words," said Subodh Karnad, Frost & Sullivan industry analyst. "All about money." Karnad doesn't regard the FCC auction as "very crucial" at this stage in the industry's evolution.

"I really don't see a lot of people getting that excited about the auction," Karnad said. "The right people don't have the money to come up with. ... Those that do are using it in other areas."

The FCC auction did begin sluggishly. On the first day, fewer than half of the 347 wireless telephone licenses received bids. Yet participants remain hopeful about the auction's outcome -- especially young carriers such as Leap Wireless International.

"What we have here is the federal government releasing a spectrum that up to this point has not been available," said Daniel Pegg, Leap's senior vice president of public affairs. "Therefore, rather than having to buy it on the open market from people who already have systems deployed, we can get a fresh license that doesn't have any infrastructure invested in it and build it out as we see fit."

Leap is particularly interested in entering new markets and expanding them as rapidly as possible, and the company views the auction as a great opportunity to achieve that goal.

GSM-based Omnipoint has its eye on Chicago. Ken Hyers, Cahners Instat analyst, agrees that as the leading GSM carrier, Omnipoint needs to build its network in order to increase its footprint in the national market. Hyers believes the Chicago market would be a good fit for Omnipoint.