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T-Mobile Spends $8 Billion as Big Winner of FCC Auction (cnet.com)
T-Mobile, Dish Network and cable giant Comcast emerged as the big winners in the government's wireless spectrum auction. From a report: The Federal Communications Commission announced the winners of its $19.8 billion spectrum auction Thursday. T-Mobile spent $8 billion in the auction and won the biggest number of licenses, according to the FCC. Dish Network was in second, committing $6.2 billion, and Comcast spent a total of $1.7 billion. Verizon, which had committed ahead of time to participating in the auction, did not bid, the FCC said. The broadcast incentive spectrum auction has been one of the agency's most complex and ambitious auctions to date. The auction, which began last year, was conducted over two major stages. A so-called backwards auction took place last year in which TV broadcasters agreed to give up wireless spectrum that the government later sold in a so-called forward auction to wireless providers.
...in a bid to appear more attractive to someone, ANYONE, who might potentially buy her out. This is literally an asset acquisition solely for the purpose of getting taken over.
Maybe this is good, T-Mobile might have better coverage and be better able to compete with Verizon for people that need that. Verizon not getting any new spectrum has to be good for competition.
But the government works for the people, not just companies that have more money right?
just got taxed $8B by the government
get the government out of the wireless business
Verizon is swimming in spectrum that they aren't even using, why would they go and buy even more?
I read the internet for the articles.
Because they're not a "they," they're part of "us" and it is something that we own so stop trying to covet it as if it was just yours personally. You're not King, and neither is anybody else. Get over it.
Instead of buying up the spectrum, this should be done as licenses that can be renewed, provided conditions are met. If you're buying up a limited resources, and there's only so much wireless spectrum available, the government (read: the people) should get to heavily restrict how those resources are used. That means enforcing net neutrality and prohibiting data caps. In the case of wired connections, there is usually room for a lot more infrastructure, and the transmission medium is privately owned rather than a public resource. In either case, net neutrality should be enforced, because it also raises issues about competition. But in the case of the wireless spectrum, the public should get to ban data caps and because the businesses are using a limited resource that really belongs to the public.
I'm on T-Mobile. As long as this doesn't' result in my rates getting jacked it means their service might finally be AT&T/Verizon level. Heck, even if you're not on T-Mobile it's good news. Spotty coverage is what keeps a lot of folks off T-Mobile and reduces their ability to compete. Now if we can just stop these mega mergers we'll have some real competition.
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It's basically extortion.
Just like most of what they do.
Are you really that stupid? Can you really not understand the concept of a shared resource? Or maybe you think whoever builds the biggest transmitter should be able to control ALL of the radio spectrum. Nope, going back to my original thought, you're just stupid.
All he cares about is money and not people. This proves he hates us so much. Those Republicans are selling our property to make money. To make money.
I work for them, and THEY DON'T DRUG TEST!! This means I can go on bathroom breaks and smoke a crack rock, and NOBODY CARES! =) Also, they don't make you fill out a 1099.
Are you really that thick, or are you just pretending?
That's mostly a function of you being a fuckwit. Uneducated and smelly. Your parents hate you and so do I.
So... how do you suppose that we distribute $8B? Divide it by 300 million US citizen? Each of us would get $20 check in the mail? What if you don't have a checking account like 7% of American families?
If US government keeps the money, it'll go to the general fund and probably reduce the debt by that much. Common citizen's children will be less burdened by our debts.
Divide it equally among all taxpayers (people who actually pay in, not just those who file and get handouts).
purely evil sell out of the american people's free spectrum by the federal government
anti competitive oligopoly's remain in tact
bombing syria will fix this!
http://www.nationaldebtclocks....
Applying this scheme to the work place would increase production. I'm already doing that (as much as I can) :-)
The government uses the free market to resolve access to a rivalrous good like radio spectrum, yet some libertarian crank still complains.
Rivalrous & Excludable: Private goods (food, clothing, cars, parking spaces)
Rivalrout & Non-excludable: Common-pool resources (fish stocks, timber, coal)
Non-rivalrous & Excludable: Club goods (cinemas, private parks, satellite television reception)
Non-rivalrous & Non-excludable: Public goods (free-to-air television reception, air, national defense)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Now call me when they figure out what the fuck they mean by unlimited data and maintain that consistently.