Thread by @trengriffin

1/ I've heard Craig McCaw say many times: "wireless radio spectrum is like invisible money."

When you have more spectrum you don't need to spend as much on infrastructure. One can be a substitute for the other. Not all spectrum is equally valuable tho. wsj.com/articles/5g-au…

2/ Wireless is about tradeoffs. For example, low band radio frequencies have better propagation, but have less hertz to transmit bits. Higher frequencies are the reverse. Mid-band frequencies are, well, in the middle. Do you know what higher prices in this auction indicate?

3/ If you look at that picture in the first tweet you should think: "That infrastructure looks spendy because it requires real cash money." Having spectrum helping you avoid that cost is worth buying at auction. The more spendy the infrastructure, the more valuable spectrum is.

4/ "After 45 rounds, the average nationwide price per MHz PoP price for licenses was of $0.81. That rises to $0.96 across categories when factoring in accelerated clearing payments and relocation costs to move satellite operators out of the band band." fiercewireless.com/5g/c-band-near…

5/ The "price per MHz PoP" concept in the wireless industry was created by McCaw Cellular in the early years of the business to capture the invisible money value of radio spectrum. Bankers and bond holders had to be convinced there was a valuable asset underlying the business.

6/ Early days in US wireless = two operators with symmetrical assets (A and B side). In 2020, assets are not the same and there are more than two operators fighting in markets that are highly penetrated. Asymmetric competition is typically much fiercer. lightreading.com/ossbss/will-c-…

7/ People are asking me what "C-band "radio spectrum means.

C stands for "compromise" -- not S band (S = short) and not X band ("X marks the spot" for fire control radar). Some of the actioned spectrum is actually in S-band.

S-Band used in a moving auto is called escargot.