Apple tipped as latest bidder in 700MHz spectrum auction

Over at our fledgling sister blog Google-Phone.com they've been obsessing over the search giant's possible leap into ownership of the 700MHz network spectrum that goes up for grabs next January; so far the key competitors have been the traditional telcos (and they really haven't liked Google's push for "open access" clauses to be added to the winner's contract) but things could get really interesting if, as Business Week reports, Apple is considering throwing its metaphorical hat into the ring.

According to the report, two (unnamed) sources have informed Business Week that Steve Jobs has been discussing taking part in the auction and moving the until-now hardware and software company into a new role as telco.  Of course, just as this would be a step into the relative unknown for Google, similarly analysts are partially sceptical of Apple's potential strength in this fresh area:

"Even for companies like Google, the economics [of owning a network] are barely intelligible ... For Apple, this seems highly implausible" Amol Sarva, CEO of Txtbl

Still, this doesn't prevent Business Week from running away with the idea of how Apple could leverage its own network - either built itself or by taking on a partner with a history of cellular technology management, such as Ericsson - and the key elements are surprisingly similar to those suggested as potential strengths for Google should they instead clinch the auction.  Ubiquitous synchronisation of data with remote servers is an obvious one, as is a carrier-free delivery of mobile content such as video and ringtones.  And rivals in the telecom industry can foresee a time when the PMP market reaches relative saturation point with Apple's iPod line, and instead the company might prefer to receive a regular percentage of profits harvested from farming out sections of the spectrum as it has been suggested Google would do.

In each case, the key point appears to be control - or, more accurately, wrenching it away from the traditional cellular operators and developing a new paradigm of network management.  Whether this is something Apple has previously envisaged in its roadmap or not, with the January 16th auction likely to be the last major opportunity to secure a portion of the spectrum - and such a tempting one at that - it will be forced into making a decision sooner rather than later.