GigaOM

A plan is under works to sell 2400 Mhz band of the wireless spectrum to wireless carriers in January 2005. A large portion of the spectrum is the one government took back from NextWave. Total, about 234 licenses - of which 155 used to belong to NextWave — should be sold to the highest bidder.

Greg Gorbatenko of Marquis Investment research believes that Nextel “could be a particular beneficiary of this action. The new infusion of bid-able spectrum raises the supply and could push down asking prices for the 1.9Ghz, which is ultimately the bone of contention between the FCC, CTIA, VZ, and NXTL. Additionally, the ability to bid in a new auction gives NXTL one more alternative to its Consensus plan; options without obligations are good!”

But beyond Nextel, wireless carriers can now offer more services using this spectrum, or simply make the voice quality better where we are not always screaming - can you hear me now. The trickle down effect should also be nice for equipment players (MOT, NOK, ERICY, ANDW, etc.) as it will ultimately lead to more build-out and more handset sales.