10 September 2007

Apple 'unlikely to join spectrum auction'

Technology firm Apple is unlikely to enter the auction of wireless spectrum scheduled for early next year in the US, BusinessWeek reports.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scheduled the auction for some time before the end of January 2008 and the search engine giant Google is currently working on its bid.

Winners of the auction will get rights to the spectrum that analogue television broadcasters are handing back to the government in two years time.

Sources told BusinessWeek that co-founder, chief executive officer and director of Apple Steve Jobs has been studying the implications of such a move but is currently leaning away from preparing a bid.

According to the source, while money is not an issue for the company - which has nearly $14 billion in cash, the low-margin and hard work of running such a massive network is likely to put Apple off.

The source adds that becoming a network operator would drag Apple's margins down and could potentially "pose a drag on an innovative company".

Chief executive of Txtbl Amol Sarva added: "Even for companies like Google, the economics [of owning a network] are barely intelligible."

Last month Google's plans to buy the spectrum were put on hold after the FCC declined two of its conditions.

The commission refused to agree that the winner of the spectrum auction should be made to sell access to its rivals on a wholesale basis and that rivals should be allowed access to infrastructure.

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