Rural Carriers Were Big Losers in 700MHz Auction

Analysts said that’s because the FCC’s strict rules kept carriers from pooling their resources to buy the spectrum. The D Block will go up for auction again, although the FCC has not set a date. This time around, experts would like to see the FCC make the D Block affordable for and appealing to groups of smaller carriers. If the agency does this, it would “permit participation from rural carriers and cooperatives to help build out this system and, for the first time, bring broadband to much of rural America,” said Andrew Seybold, an independent wireless analyst.

Until that happens, rural residents will have to keep waiting – it doesn’t appear that either AT&T or Verizon plans to target underserved regions. AT&T recently played up its auction land grab, but said nothing about rural coverage. Instead, the carrier said it will roll out 3G service to nearly 350 “leading” U.S. markets by the end of the year; that coverage will include all of the top 100 cities.

Verizon Wireless, similarly, said on April 4 it’s working to launch its high-speed wireless services by 2010. The company will do this using the C Block spectrum it won for $9.36 billion. The C Block comes with open-access requirements that will allow people to use nearly any device and application on the network. That’s great news for millions of urbanites. Still, rural residents are left to rely on their small carriers, which, despite their efforts, often have limited coverage and slower speeds compared to their metro counterparts.

If the FCC had allowed companies to work together, that wouldn’t have remained the case, said Higgins, who works as general manager of West Central Wireless and also serves as CEO of West Central’s parent company, Central Texas Telephone Cooperative.

“This is a battle we fight as small carriers all the time – it’s the mom and pop stores against the Wal-Marts,” Higgins said. “Spectrum is like real estate, and if you’ve got all the money, you’ve got all the real estate and no one can build around you.”

The 700MHz spectrum auction ended March 18, eight weeks after the first round opened. Carriers must pay $19.12 billion to the United States Treasury by the end of June.

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