Continue reading Millionaires Are in a Funk Too

Millionaires Are in a Funk Too originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since the story ran at BusinessWeek.com, it has some credibility. The online version of the magazine reports that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is considering joining the government's auction of wireless spectrum, putting it in potential competition with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).

Apple certainly has the $4.6 billion needed to enter the bidding, but the magazine says that the low margins in running a large wireless network might keep the consumer electronics company away. However, if Apple did succeed in the auction, it would have its own network for the iPhone. As a potential attraction, the company could allow its handset to use inexpensive VoIP.

Apple may have a longer-term reason to look at the spectrum. At some point, its sales of iPhones and iPods will slow in the U.S. But, having a service network would allow the company to combine video, music, and voice onto one platform, which could extend the sales life of its current products.

Another attraction might be the scale of the opportunity. Verizon Wireless will bring in about $40 billion this year. And, it is highly profitable. Offsetting that is the costs that were necessary to build out the infrastructure to support those revenues. But Apple might end up in a partnership with another company, say Google, to share those costs.

It may seem crazy, but so is the success of the iPod.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Would Apple (AAPL) become a cellular carrier? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst upgrades 7-25-07: AMZN, CAKE, CFC, EXPE and UPS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst downgrades 7-23-07: BVF, COP, COSI and RIG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FCC's open-spectrum plans pit tech vs. telecoms originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already knew that T-Mobile was the big spender with a net spectrum purchase of well over $4 billion. What we didn't know was what SpectrumCo, LLC (Sprint-NexTel; Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Adv./Newhouse) was going to do with the licenses they won and many didn't know the exact breakdown of what each partner's costs would be in SpectrumCo.

While we now know their costs, we still don't know exactly what will be done with all this spectrum.

Here is a backgrounder piece if you want to refer back.

SpectrumCo ended up with 137 licenses for roughly $2.4 billion, compared to T-Mobile's $4.2 billion for 120 licenses in major urban and regional markets. SpectrumCo gained enough spectrum to cover most of the U.S. population. We have a breakdown for some of the allocations of SpectrumCo: Comcast's portion of the total cost is $1.29 billion; Time Warner's portion is $632.2 million; and Cox Communication's portion is $248.3 million. The spectrum licenses were acquired for an average price of 45 cents per megahertz - pop, which was the lowest average price paid by all the major bidders, according to them. The spectrum licenses will create a true national footprint covering the MSOs' top cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and provide flexibility and strategic options.

According to the press release from SpectrumCo, LLC the consortium did not approach this investment with the intent of becoming the nation's fifth wireless voice provider, but to obtain greater flexibility in developing options for more advanced wireless services.

While no plans have as yet been finalized, including no specific plans to build out the networks at this time, in coming months the members of SpectrumCo will fully evaluate all options including possible testing in limited markets.

Let the guessing games continue.

Sprint, Time Warner, Cox, and Comcast spectrum plans still eluding originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What do TWX and Eminem have in common? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 May 2006 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.