Cable Operators Eye Wireless Broadband Using AWS Spectrum
Cable operators probably will use AWS spectrum to deliver wireless broadband, said executives at 2 firms that bought AWS spectrum in the FCC auction that ended last month (CD Oct 6 p9). The service won’t be available for several years, said officials at Bend Cable and Cable One. Another successful bidder, Cox, hasn’t decided how to use spectrum it agreed to buy for $248.3 million, it said.
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Scarcity likely drove cable operators to bid on spectrum before deciding how to use it, industry lawyers and analysts have said. “Spectrum doesn’t become available everyday, so snapping up this ‘real estate’ was the right thing for us to do,” a Cox spokesman said: “What we will do with the spectrum is somewhat to be determined.” A Cable One official echoed Cox. “We had to be a little more of a pioneer and a little more of a risk taker,” Steve Fox, vp-digital services, said, calling spectrum “difficult to obtain after the fact.”
Bend Cable, the smallest operator to win spectrum, is considering AWS options, Treasurer Thomas Palmer said: “We haven’t really focused really hard on it… it’s a couple years down the road.” Wireless broadband is a natural use for AWS, he said. Bend Cable is paying $528,000 for 2 licenses in Ore., where it sells cable to about 35,000 homes.
No plans have been unveiled for AWS spectrum acquired by larger operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House, which bought $2.37 billion worth with Cox and Sprint via the SpectrumCo partnership. “SpectrumCo will fully evaluate all options including possible testing,” the partners said Oct. 5. Comcast and Time Warner Cable wouldn’t elaborate. Cox will test “integrated wireless service” in a cable industry venture with Sprint in 2 cities starting this year, said the official.
Cable One may use WiMAX to supply broadband outside homes, Fox said. It’s unlikely to use its $22.1 million in spectrum for cellphone service, he added: “That is extremely complex, and more than likely something I doubt we're ever going to tackle.” Countywide AWS licenses allow the firm to sell high-speed Web service to areas where it has no cable franchises, Fox said. For now, he’s attending industry conferences to find out about more about WiMAX, he said: “We are basically in the learning process.” - Jonathan Make