For those of you wondering what Verizon plans to do with their newly acquired $4.7b chunk of the 700mhz spectrum, the answer is here. Verizon has announced that the “C Block” will be used to roll out their new 4G LTE network. So what does this mean? Well 4G is a new standard for data that will potentially see speeds of 100mbps download and 50mbps upload. The only bad news?
Google filed a report on Monday with the FCC detailing the feasibility of using “white space” from the 700mhz spectrum for wide ranged Wi-Fi. Despite Verizon winning a large chunk of the 700mhz spectrum, there were a few channels of the spectrum known as “white space” that were not auctioned off. Google has teamed up with computer giants like Microsoft and Dell to lobby for what they are referring to as “Wi-Fi 2.0.” If the FCC takes this idea and runs with it, Google has no intention of providing service, however they said they will provide support to any company looking to use the new spectrum for Wi-Fi.
The FCC auction of the 700mhz band ended officially on Tuesday and the winners were announced today. For those of you not familiar with the auction, the FCC was auctioning the rights to broadcast over the 700 mhz spectrum in different bands A through E. The spectrum is being freed up by the move of broadcast tv from analog to digital.
The most highly sought after band, the C band, was won mostly by Verizon. Verizon layed down a cool $4.7b for the large chunk of the spectrum. Verizon will now have the rights to broadcast in this frequency across the majority of the United States.
So what does this mean? Well, the big V has not completely made its intentions clear. Analysts say due to the range of the frequency, it would be possible to carry a wireless network over long distances that will be able to penetrate walls, much like tv signals can do now. Also, with Verizon’s new dedication to having an open network, there will be endless possibilities for cell phone technology and high speed data.
