Apple Inc. may bid for the rights to a wireless spectrum which will be auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission.
Google and Intel have already expressed interest in the forthcoming 700MHz spectrum auction, the winner of which will obtain some of the last available prime spectrum, ideal for delivering broadband wireless internet access. Now there is speculation that Apple Inc. may follow suit.
The auction, which the FCC says will take place in January and could raise as much as $15 billion, will determine rights to a 700-megahertz wireless network with faster internet access than cellular or Wi-Fi networks offer. The FCC’s “open access” provision requires the network operators that win the auction to allow customers to use whatever phone and software they want on about one-third of the spectrum.
Analysts appear to be split on whether Apple would benefit from this move to become a network operator. Apple has delved into into the phone business with the iPhone. Yet they have to rely on partners such as AT&T and Starbucks to provide the wireless connections they need to make those phones work. However for just a few billion dollars, Apple could get into the phone business itself. They could buy the spectrum they need to offer not just voice service for all those iPhone users, but to build the broadband wireless links they need to offer network-centric computing, communications and entertainment.
If Apple bid and won, it could offer service on its iPhone, which currently runs exclusively on AT&T’s network and requires a two-year contract for $60 per month. Apple could change the terms or even give free access to a network.
A BusinessWeek article on Monday said Apple CEO Steve Jobs has “studied the implications” of bidding on the spectrum.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
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