$300 million reverse public sale targets mobile broadband wasteland

$300 million reverse public sale targets mobile broadband wasteland


In preparation for a $300 million reverse public sale scheduled for September, the FCC launched an interactive map that reveals large gaps in U.S. mobile broadband coverage.


The fee's new map is an interactive visible representation of the areas preliminarily recognized as being potentially eligible for funding by way of the reverse public sale as a result of they lack entry to 3G cell service or better. The map exhibits that huge swaths of the Western United States are bereft of mobile broadband service, which is comprehensible given the low inhabitants densities and geographic challenges offered by the region. Different areas that notably lack coverage include the Appalachian areas of West Virginia and Jap Kentucky and New York's Adirondack Mountains.

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The return on investment for operators that might construct cell broadband networks in areas of low POPs and challenging terrain is simply unacceptable, which is why the federal government intends to fork over cash so network deployments in these areas would possibly become extra attractive.

Earlier this month, the FCC released a public notice seeking feedback on its plan to use reverse competitive bidding to award a complete of $300 million to firms prepared to build 3G or higher networks in unserved wireless markets. The one-time Mobility Fund Phase I funding that will launched by way of Auction 901, slated to start out Sept. 27, 2012, is part of the Join America Fund that the FCC approved in November 2011 to overtake its outdated universal service and intercarrier compensation systems in an effort to connect everyone within the United States to broadband. The Mobility Fund is particularly geared toward offering present-technology or higher cellular voice and broadband services in unserved areas.

Part II of the mobility fund is supposed to provide $500 million yearly for ongoing assist of mobile services.

The FCC mentioned that it's going to select winners of the reverse public sale based on bids that maximize the road miles covered by new mobile broadband providers without exceeding the finances of $300 million. The principles state that profitable bidders might be required to establish 3G service inside two years, or 4G service inside three years, of receiving funding. Feedback on the plan are due Feb. 24, with replies due March 9.

JSI Capital Advisers famous on its blog that the FCC has not addressed various issues, including what it is going to do if the auction does not garner enough bids to make use of up the total $300 million. "It seems as if Auction 901 is a free-for-all ... not less than for anyone who has the courage, shrewdness and assets to play at this high-stakes table," said the investment bank.

The FCC has made increasing wi-fi broadband a priority and pledged in March 2010 that it could identify 500 MHz of further broadband spectrum over the subsequent 10 years, with 300 MHz to be identified throughout the first 5 years of the plan. Progress has been slow, however, given the existing allocations of spectrum that must be cleared. A lot of the spectrum that might be readily refarmed is at present licensed to tv broadcasters and cellular satellite providers.