US : The CDMA Development Group (CDG) congratulated winners of the FCC's Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) auction, or Auction 66, in the United States which ended on Monday, September 18. Many of the winning bids came from established 3G carriers, most of which operate CDMA2000(r) networks.

Based on the results of the auction, the CDG expects to see an increase in spending on CDMA2000 infrastructure over the next two years. RF chipsets that support the 1700/2100 MHz frequency band for CDMA2000 infrastructure and devices were announced in June 2006. The prices paid for AWS spectrum this year, on a megahertz per population basis, were less than those prices paid in prior years for PCS spectrum.

''The CDG is pleased to see CDMA operators plant such an aggressive stake to secure large bandwidths of valuable spectrum for the purpose of introducing advanced wireless services in the United States,'' said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. ''CDMA2000 operators continue to invest large amounts of capital to support further expansion of their spectrum footprints and thus their networks. CDMA2000 offers operators a clear and robust roadmap that will fully utilize this spectrum for the delivery of advanced and ultra mobile broadband services.''

The licensed AWS spectrum lies between 1710-1755 MHz paired with 2110-2155 MHz and supports frequency division duplex (FDD) operations. The FCC's rules divide the spectrum into six frequency blocks, and the license for a given block of spectrum covers a certain geographic area. The A Block licenses are for 20 MHz and cover the smaller Cellular Market Areas (CMA), of which there are 734 in the U.S. and its territories. The B and C Block licenses are for 20 and 10 MHz, respectively, and cover Economic Areas (BEA), of which there are 176 in the U.S. and its territories. The D, E, and F block licenses are for 10, 10, and 20 MHz, respectively, and cover Regional Economic Area Groups (REAG), of which there are 12 in the U.S and its territories.

The CDG looks forward to the results of the next major FCC auction, the auction of 60 MHz in the 700 MHz band, which is planned to begin in January 2008. The CDG expects 3G carriers will have a strong participation in that auction as well.

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