The FCC's Advanced Wireless Services (Auction 66) starts today, bringing in as much as $15 billion to the U.S. Treasury, says the AP. It is targeting "3G" (UMTS) cellular services using the paired 1710-1755 and 2110-2155 MHz frequency bands.

UMTS-based Cingular and T-Moble might find the 5MHz wide channels of AWS a better match than Sprint and Verizon using EV-DO and 1.25 MHz channels. But other bidders including cable and satellite providers have put down earnest money for a shot at nationwide wireless service, providing real competition.

The 1710-1755 Mhz and 2110-2155 Mhz band was identified in NTIA’s July, 2002 Viability Assessment. They said that spectrum, currently used by a dozen government agencies, could be moved without disrupting communications systems critical to national security. That made room for some 90 MHz of spectrum, as per presidential directive (arguably, more of a Cingular directive).

It won't be much good for Mobile WiMax -- it's optimized for simplex (TDD) voice and data. Mobile WiMax uses SCOFDMA with techniques like beamforming and MIMO which work best in simplex (TDD). WiMax would be marginalized using duplex (FDD).

Auction No. 66 will offer 1,122 licenses: 36 Regional Economic Area Grouping (REAG) licenses, 352 Economic Area (EA) licenses, and 734 Cellular Market Area (CMA) licenses, good for an initial term of 15 years.

Already, the auction has brought in $4.3 billion from 168 bidders (pdf) who made payments to qualify for participation. They are competing for the right to use a duplex (FDD) segment.

The top qualifier is Wireless DBS LLC, an alliance that includes two competing direct broadcast satellite providers: EchoStar and DirecTV. They paid $972.5 million upfront.

Second was SpectrumCo, a consortium of Comcast, Time Warner, Sprint Nextel, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks, with $637.7 million. Third was T-Mobile License LLC, at $583.5 million. T-Mobile is expected to be among the most aggressive bidders.

SpectrumCo, the joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner and Cox along with Sprint is bidding against DirecTV & Echostar. The rumored DirecTV/Clearwire/Sprint deal for Mobile WiMAX and Sprint's own Mobile WiMAX plans announced yesterday, provide an alternative route home (using 2.5 GHz TDD).

Perhaps the AWS auction (1.7/2.1 GHz FDD) is just a sideshow for satellite operators. They want to block cable's wireless play anyway they can. Harold Feld, senior vice president of the Media Access Project, said the cable companies may also be getting into the auction simply to drive up the cost to the satellite companies.

The amount of spectrum, combined with the fact that the licenses for sale span the nation means a major new player could emerge. "If someone wanted to put together a national footprint they could do that in this auction," said former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.

T-Mobile probably is the most motivated bidder in the auction. Compared to other wireless companies, T-Mobile is spectrum starved and their GSM-UMTS (W-CDMA) technology is a good match for the AWS spectrum. Other wireless carriers, like No. 1 Cingular Wireless (GSM) and No. 2 Verizon Wireless (CDMA) have also made large upfront payments and are expected to be active.

On Wednesday, August 9, 2006, there will be two rounds of bidding; from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET and from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET. Round results will be available approximately 15 minutes after the close of each round. The Commission will conduct this auction over the Internet, and telephonic bidding will be available as well. The Integrated Spectrum Auction System can be accessed at auctions.fcc.gov and here.

M2Z, a company funded by venture capitalists, hoped to launch a free nationwide broadband wireless network. They want to use the simplex part of the AWS spectrum (from 2155Mhz to 2175 Mhz).

M2Z argues the 20 MHz of bandwidth would lay fallow for years since they're not paired with other airwaves. M2Z, which stands for "Move the cost of data transport to Zero," has filed a 127-page proposal (PDF). It could also dovetail nicely with MVP's satellite/cellular repeaters and Modeo's DVB-H mobile television, which also use the 1.7GHz band. Triple play.

Cingular, Sprint, Verizon and Rupert Murdock are not big fans of "free" nationwide broadband wireless. The FCC has taken that (TDD) 20 MHz frequency block off the auction table.

If M2Z's proposal solves the Universal Service Fund dilema, as they claim, and provides a cost/effective "digital divide" solution, it may put the Republican-controlled FCC in a difficult position.

Read more at: http://dailywireless.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5694&src=rss10.