As the Federal Communications Commission gets set to kick off next month, it's becoming more apparent just who plans to be bidding. The FCC began releasing information yesterday about which telecom firms applied to participate in the auction and which bidders it had accepted so far. Cable TV companies Cox Communications and Cablevision Systems applied to bid alongside Google. Another cable player, Microsoft co-founder and Charter Communications majority owner Paul Allen, also plans to bid. And besides AT&T and Verizon Communications, bid applicants from the traditional telco industry will include Mexico telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu and a Guam-based telco backed by Roy Disney (yes, that Roy Disney).
More than 260 applications to bid were filed. Only 96 have been accepted so far, and many, including those from AT&T and Verizon, have paperwork issues that need to be completed, but you can bet there will be many more accepted in the weeks to come.
For more:
- see this story in The Wall Street Journal
- read this Associated Press story in BusinessWeek
Related article:
- Google confirmed earlier this month that it applied to bid