IP Democracy: Cable Operators Eye Wireless Spectrum Purchases

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, speaking at the company’s analyst day this morning, announced that a consortium of cable companies that have aligned with Sprint Nextel to develop new mobile offerings are eyeing a bid to buy wireless spectrum.

Britt said that Time Warner Cable and its partners, including Comcast, Cox, Advanced Newhouse (and Sprint Nextel) will file a short-form registration statement with the FCC this afternoon that gives the group the rights to bid on upcoming advanced wireless spectrum auctions. Starting in June, the FCC will begin auctioning 90 megahertz of advanced wireles spectrum at 1710-1755 and 2110-2155 MHz.

The short-form registration statement allows the consortium to bid but doesn’t commit it to buying spectrum. Britt was quick to note that the partners won’t overspend on the spectrum if they move forward. “We will be very disciplined in our approach,” he said.

The cable companies’ pact with Sprint-Nextel was established to give cable operators the ability to add a wireless component to their bundled offerings. All along, the companies involved in the initiative have said they intend to not merely “staple” mobile voice service to their current triple-play packages but go beyond that and create innovative services that add unique functionality to cable’s services. Among the kinds of ideas pursued by the group is the ability to watch cable program in mobile environments, such as automobiles.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on May 10, 2006 8:51 AM to IP Democracy