|
The FCC's auction for airplane broadband will resume today, reports the AP, but AC BidCo is the only remaining contender for the largest of the two bands being sold. Its provisional winning bid is $31.3 million. AirCell, of Louisville, Colo., and Ripplewood Holdings, a New York-based private equity firm, formed AC BidCo for bidding purposes.
AirCell makes equipment that provides voice and data service for aircraft passengers and crews through satellites. The equipment has been installed by the three largest fleets of time-share corporate jets.
The spectrum is currently used by Verizon Airfone, a subsidiary of Verizon, the country's largest telecommunications company by revenue.
Airfone, which dropped out of the bidding early, will have two years shrink the bandwidth used by its in-flight phone service, which began in 1984. Airlines with Airfone service include Continental, Delta, United and US Airways.
Boeing's competing in-flight broadband service, Connexion, uses a satellite for international carriers and did not take part. Competitor OnAir plans to use Inmarsat's new Spotbeam Satellite to provide over 400 Kbps to aircraft cabins.
A narrower air-to-ground band is also being auctioned. The lead bidder for that band on Thursday afternoon was LiveTV, the in-flight entertainment subsidiary of New York-based JetBlue Airways. Its provisional winning bid was $2.62 million. JetBlue has not revealed what it intends to do with the spectrum.
Space Data, piggybacking on weather balloons to provide wireless service to rural North Dakota, is using an apparent stalling tactic to keep the auction from closing. The AP reports Tim Ayers, a spokesman for Space Data, said that because of FCC rules he was unable to say why the company was keeping the auction alive, or how it would use the spectrum if it wins.
WiFiNetNews has an overview of the auction.
Read more at: . |
FCC 
Advanced Search
