dslreports logo
 story category
AT&T Hesitates About Joining Spectrum Auction
May not be a good business decision
AT&T recently acquired enough 700Mhz spectrum from Aloha Partners to make it the company owning the most of that spectrum at the current time. Their leadership in this area may end after the upcoming 700 Mhz auction if they’re honest in their announcement that they may not bid in the auction. CEO Randall Stephenson says that the FCC’s open access rules might make it impossible to make a profitable business out of bidding in the auction. Despite the fact that Stephenson calls the spectrum "beachfront property" and concedes that they won't find better spectrum anytime soon, he says that they need to run more numbers and create a proper business model before committing to the auction.
view:
topics flat nest 
rdmiller
join:2005-09-23
Richmond, VA

rdmiller

Member

No problem

AT&T will eventually get it anyway. They'll just wait for the next Republican president, then buy both Qwest and Verizon. No need to bother with the auction. Too messy!

hahahaha
@bellsouth.net

hahahaha

Anon

Re: No problem

said by rdmiller:

AT&T will eventually get it anyway. They'll just wait for the next Republican president, then buy both Qwest and Verizon. No need to bother with the auction. Too messy!
Maybe there won't be a "next Republican president" .. your choice

MrMoody
Free range slave
Premium Member
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC

MrMoody

Premium Member

Re: No problem

I haven't seen the Dems do much to discourage anti-competitive corporate actions, either. Sure would be nice to see ANY third political party stand a chance for once.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx

Member

Re: No problem

said by MrMoody:

I haven't seen the Dems do much to discourage anti-competitive corporate actions, either. Sure would be nice to see ANY third political party stand a chance for once.
Try this 2008 nightmare election scenario on for size: Clinton vs. Giuliani

I know I'll be pulling the third-party lever.
vinnie97
Premium Member
join:2003-12-05
US

vinnie97

Premium Member

Re: No problem

Amen to that.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude to rdmiller

Member

to rdmiller
said by rdmiller:

AT&T will eventually get it anyway. They'll just wait for the next Republican president, then buy both Qwest and Verizon. No need to bother with the auction. Too messy!
Wait, how many ways are there to get data. I am all for more consolidation. You can get phone from 3-8 providers. And alot of pro business things happened under Clinton. The politicians speak on thing, and do a complete different thing. Doesnt matter liberal conservative, there the same.
grandpinaple8
join:2006-01-03
New York, NY

grandpinaple8 to rdmiller

Member

to rdmiller
Are you kidding me? Verizon has more money than AT&T and Quest combined.
rdmiller
join:2005-09-23
Richmond, VA

rdmiller

Member

Re: No problem

said by grandpinaple8:

Are you kidding me? Verizon has more money than AT&T and Quest combined.
Verizon is spending theirs hand-over-fist on FIOS. AT&T is lurking in the weeds, waiting to pounce. It only takes one bad quarter for some wise guy to suggest that Verizon is "in play".
grandpinaple8
join:2006-01-03
New York, NY

grandpinaple8

Member

Re: No problem

They have been at it for 3 years already. Verizon isn't stupid they are keeping their dividends high despite their massive infrastructure investment. AT&T won't be able to merge their way into this cake. AT&T can't have their cake and eat it this time to. Why would Verizon want to be apart of a giant infrastructure dinosaur that is probably going to be knee deep in the red when DOCSIS 3.0 kicks uverse into the toilet.

montero
@verizon.net

montero to grandpinaple8

Anon

to grandpinaple8
Not even close. Verizon VZ has a market cap of 128.50 Billion. AT&T T has a market cap of 252.31 Billion which makes AT&T worth almost twice as much as Verizon.
grandpinaple8
join:2006-01-03
New York, NY

grandpinaple8

Member

Re: No problem

They may have assets twice as much, but Verizon has revenue 1.5 times greater.

montero
@verizon.net

montero

Anon

Re: No problem

You have it reversed for 2006 AT&T made 9 Billion net. income compared to Verizons 6 billion.
grandpinaple8
join:2006-01-03
New York, NY

grandpinaple8

Member

Re: No problem

I was talking about total revenue and no Verizon still made 6 billion net of which 4 was paid in dividends and AT&T made 7.
gopnick
join:2005-01-07
Benton, AR

gopnick to rdmiller

Member

to rdmiller
said by rdmiller:

AT&T will eventually get it anyway. They'll just wait for the next Republican president, then buy both Qwest and Verizon. No need to bother with the auction. Too messy!
You learned about economics in a public school, didn't you?

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

What a maggot

"Despite the fact that Stephenson calls the spectrum "beachfront property" and concedes that they won't find better spectrum anytime soon"...

Way to go Darth...just sue your way to the top!
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: What a maggot

said by S_engineer:

Way to go Darth...just sue your way to the top!
How can you possibly twist AT&T's comments about prime spectrum and them possibly not bidding for the spectrum into lawsuits?

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

Re: What a maggot

I'm giving a generalization on how ATT intends on becoming Americas top provider. The spectrum offers for another piece of the puzzle to be put in place, but no; they'd rather rely on antiquated copper, ugly vrads and lawsuits to take the title!

»www.geneva.il.us/att/Lig ··· peed.htm

»arstechnica.com/articles ··· erse.ars

»www.saschameinrath.com/node/400

Thats just in my neck of the woods...

calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA

1 recommendation

calvoiper

Member

So far behind the curve....

What this "announcement" really means is twofold:

First, ATT realizes that it can't compete in an open new wireless market--it's a hopeless dinosaur incapable of recognizing and bringing to market new ideas in time to win market share. Therefore, it must control the spectrum, which controls the market, to succeed.

Second, ATT is totally abandoning the concept of common carriage--they only want your wireless device to carry what they allow. While this may seem to be part of this developing market, think where we'd be if ATT had only allowed phone calls to the ATT owned grocery store, the ATT owned flower shop, the ATT owned pizza parlor, etc. We'd be looking at a very different economy.

calvoiper

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: So far behind the curve....

said by calvoiper:

ATT realizes that it can't compete in an open new wireless market--it's a hopeless dinosaur incapable of recognizing and bringing to market new ideas in time to win market share. Therefore, it must control the spectrum, which controls the market, to succeed.

calvoiper
What it means is that under the auction rules, if the "open access" part of the 700mhz spectrum doesn't garner a bid north of $4.9 billion, the spectrum will be pulled off the market and then rebid without the "open access" rules. So I suspect Verizon & AT&T will hold back unless some other big money company(Google ??) bids on it. Only then will they step in if they have to.

Jigsaw
Stardust We Are
Premium Member
join:2000-10-21
Cleveland, OH

Jigsaw

Premium Member

Lost

"Despite the fact that Stephenson calls the spectrum "beachfront property" and concedes that they won't find better spectrum anytime soon, he says that they need to run more numbers and create a proper business model before committing to the auction."

They can't even run a proper Business Model now!Hey att lobbying the fuck out of the Government is not a business Model.But you seem to like it alot.I have a good idea why not make shit people really want-innovate-God forbid you may save a few bucks paying the whores(congressmen)to do your work.
wombough
join:2001-08-30
Albany, GA

wombough

Member

att and verizon

and quest will eventually merge and form bell once again. They are the only 3 baby bells left. But one can no buy the other they are too big they can only hope to merge as equals!
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Suggestion for at&t...

..."Despite the fact that Stephenson calls the spectrum "beachfront property" and concedes that they won't find better spectrum anytime soon, he says that they need to run more numbers and create a proper business model before committing to the auction."

... Take your sweet time.. take all the time in the world and run your numbers - and when the auction is over and they're still running numbers, then maybe there will ultimately be an alternative to what is the market today.

Wireless is wireless is wireless today. You get a phone that is over priced and inflated and usually doesn't quite get the task right (as in it's usually missing a feature or two that people are calling for), a service that is inconsistent based on location, locked into a VERY overpriced plan that always falls short of at least one of the user's needs, overly priced add-ons such as text message plans, and crappy customer service that could care less about talking to you in the first place. Slap a name on that such as at&t, sprint, or verizon, and you have what we call in America, "Mobile Phones"...

MrMoody
Free range slave
Premium Member
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC
Netgear CM500
Asus RT-AC68

MrMoody

Premium Member

Re: Suggestion for at&t...

said by fiberguy2:

when the auction is over and they're still running numbers, then maybe there will ultimately be an alternative to what is the market today.
No, because Verizon and Sprint will own the spectrum and it will be business as usual. Competitive internet pipe, don't make me laugh.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: Suggestion for at&t...

If thats the case then how can in the UK mobile phones be cheaper than here? »threestore.three.co.uk/m ··· &id=1201 even with conversion to US dollars their plans are still cheaper than here. 1100 minutes for roughly $56 USD thats a steal per month.

MrMoody
Free range slave
Premium Member
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC

MrMoody

Premium Member

Re: Suggestion for at&t...

Because Europe has a standardized, open system with true competition.

Ben
Premium Member
join:2007-06-17
Fort Worth, TX

Ben to fiberguy2

Premium Member

to fiberguy2
said by fiberguy2:

Wireless is wireless is wireless today. You get a phone that is over priced and inflated and usually doesn't quite get the task right (as in it's usually missing a feature or two that people are calling for), a service that is inconsistent based on location, locked into a VERY overpriced plan that always falls short of at least one of the user's needs, overly priced add-ons such as text message plans, and crappy customer service that could care less about talking to you in the first place. Slap a name on that such as at&t, sprint, or verizon, and you have what we call in America, "Mobile Phones"...
Mobile Phones cost more because they're mobile. It's what you pay for.

It's why laptops cost more than a comparable desktop machine, even after you factor in the cost of the LCD.

Anything that's mobile will cost more than the non-mobile equivalent.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

1 edit

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Suggestion for at&t...

Gee.. thanks for the lesson... even if you are incorrect in your answer.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK

Premium Member

This is a ploy....

This is simply a ploy. They want the spectrum alright, they just want it free of ANY regulations or restrictions, and free from any open devices/access requirements.

What they are doing here is threatening to take their ball and leave Eric Cartmen style. "Screw you guys... I'm going home..."

Basically they are trying to get things the way they want them. "Our way, or the highway."

If Google or someone else big makes a bid for the spectrum above the minimum, I can assure you that all of a sudden AT&T's "numbers" will come up green and they'll be in to win.

They're hoping that the Auction fails and then the conditions are stripped, or that maybe their threat of not bidding will pressure the FCC's to change the rules and regulations for the Auction spectrum at this late hour.