[opendtv] Re: Auction Hi-lights

Craig Birkmaier wrote:

> I strongly suspect that the first thing these companies will
> do is move much of their traditional voice traffic into the
> 700 MHz spectrum.

> I would expect to see more voice in the 700MHz bands, freeing
> up the higher frequencies now used for voice for the rapidly
> growing 3G data services.

I'm not so sure. First off, the 800 MHz spectrum already "owned" by
these cellular carriers is being freed up now that analog cellular is
being allowed to switch off. So it would seem that cell companies can
use that spectrum for digital, along with the 1.9 GHz band they are
already using. And digital phones should already be set up for the 800
MHz band, so no problem with another migration.

The other point is that 3G is supposed to carry voice as well as
broadband applications. My cell phone is 3G. It's supposed to be
compatible with both narrow and wideband CDMA channels. I've read that
most of the 3G bands are, in practice, only being used for more voice
calls. So it's not like 3G service has to be separate from voice
service. They coexist in wideband channels. Matter of fact, cdma2000 can
also use three separate narrow CDMA channels to create a single 3G
wideband channel.

And, the deal with the FCC was that devices using this spectrum had to
be open. Not walled garden. To me, that hints that the new band will be
dedicated to non-traditional services, not more of the same cell
service.

> Since a big chunk of the 700MHz spectrum comes with the new rule
> of open device attachment, Best Buy is betting that they can
> take a large chunk of the retail market as the carriers close
> these expensive storefronts and let consumers pay the full cost
> of the devices in return for the ability to connect them to any
> network.

Okay, but I don't take that to mean that walled garden cell phone
service will cease. The Forbes article merely said that these carriers
will use retail outlets like Best Buy, rather than sell their phones in
their own stores.

> The old models don't apply here. The mobile market is not moving
> toward subscription service - it is moving away from these
> services. Mobile consumers are going to look for services, not
> channels. Services that provide exactly what they need, that
> take advantage of 24/7 connectivity to push the service to the
> mobile handset for on demand usage.

I don't know why you imply these different models are mutually exlusive.
The DVB-H services in Europe seem to be by subscription, for example.
Makes no difference whether the material is transmitted in real time, or
destined to storage (which seems to keep your interest, year in and year
out).

>> The money might be going in the Treasury in the short term,
>> but somehow AT&T and Verizon are planning on making back many
>> times that amount.
>
> Indirect taxation.

Exactly. That's why this whole operations bothers me. It bothers me to
have a government agency getting all excited by the outrageous amounts
it pried out of the carriers coffers. The consumer ultimately pays, and
yet, WE OWN that spectrum.

Bert
 
 
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