Buying 700 MHz spectrum would be financially ‘immaterial’ to Goog...
Buying 700 MHz spectrum would be financially “immaterial” to Google, the Stanford Group said, responding to a Wall Street Journal report that the company will make a “serious run” in the auction. “If Google pays $5 billion for spectrum,…
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that represents 2.5 percent of its market value and less than 40 percent of its cash,” the analyst firm said. But Google may not be as bold as some expect, it said. “Google will either not bid aggressively or will partner to build and operate a network,” it said. “Google is trying to drive carriers to open their networks to its Web services. Google’s lobbying efforts and spectrum bidding preparation are, at least in part, a ploy to drive better deals with existing wireless carriers.” Tower companies will be the winners if Google gets spectrum, because “a new network would require site deployment nationally,” it said. If Google is “going it alone, that’s a lot better than them working with Verizon,” said Txtbl CEO Amol Sarva, a member of Frontline Wireless’s Open Access Advisory Council. However, it’s too early to tell what a Google bid would mean for open access, he said. “It would mean more for open access if they were actually saying anything at all about how they intend to offer the service.”