Predicting FCC Mobile Broadband Auctions

Don't expect high prices in next month's auction of spectrum earmarked for mobile broadband, according to speakers during a Kagan Research audio conference. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will auction 90 MHz in the 1.7-2.1 GHz band called AWS � Advanced Wireless Services.

The forecast is for disciplined pricing because large swathes of spectrum are available, the bellwether pre-auction trading of spectrum in private transactions is restrained and more spectrum auctions are coming. Bruce Falkenberg, founder of wireless financier Falkenberg Capital, expects only "the usual suspects" to be buyers � national cell phone carriers, regional carriers and some speculators.

"Although many believe that AWS bidding will be disciplined, the prospect of acquiring a national footprint could be enticing to numerous non-traditional spectrum auction bidders � such as cable operators, media conglomerates and Internet players," noted John Mansell, Kagan senior analyst and co-moderator of the panel.

"Deal-making and private market values in the neighboring 2.3GHZ and 2.5GHz bands have been on the rise," Mansell continued. "Craig McCaw's Clearwire just registered for an IPO to raise up to $400 million, which comes on top of the $1.1 billion Clearwire already raised in the private market. Also, economists specializing in 'game theory' are fully employed."

Open Banking Usage to Grow by 470 Percent

The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ

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Why Instant Issuance Payment Cards Evolved

The global financial services sector continues to grow as more progressive organizations seek to gain a meaningful competitive advantage from their digital transformation initiatives. Across the globe, many regions are seeing a significant rise in 'instant issuance' activity from a physical and digital perspective, from both traditional and emerging innovative banking institutions. Digital Payments Market Development Customers increasingly demand instant access to banking services, with physical instant issuance enabling them to leave their branch equipped with a ready-to-go payment card. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the market for instantly issued physical payment cards will increase from 243.2 million shipments in 2022 to a forecast of 471.1 million in 2027. "Critically, instant issuance of payment cards is no longer limited to the physical," said Sam Gazeley, industry analyst at ABI Research . Indeed, the growing digitization of p

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