Re:FCC spectrum auction bidding ends at $19.6B
by heisenbit on Sunday February 12, 2017 @01:19PM
(#13629658)
Yes, this is $20B invested into virtual claims that could be invested into networking assets.
I still remember the exact place I stood in the locker room in 2000 when my manager remarked similar about the €50B auction in Germany in the wake of similar ones across Europe. It struck me odd. Over the next decade he was proven right. The debt load forced a consolidation of carriers and then suppliers. The effects are still visible in balance sheets.
The problem is that the amount bid is not so much a function of reasonable expected profits but more a question of how much money can be raised. Medium to long term profitability risks are discounted by managers as not bidding has an immediate impact on themselves.
I still remember the exact place I stood in the locker room in 2000 when my manager remarked similar about the €50B auction in Germany in the wake of similar ones across Europe. It struck me odd. Over the next decade he was proven right. The debt load forced a consolidation of carriers and then suppliers. The effects are still visible in balance sheets.
The problem is that the amount bid is not so much a function of reasonable expected profits but more a question of how much money can be raised. Medium to long term profitability risks are discounted by managers as not bidding has an immediate impact on themselves.