An unhappy Yahoo, unsatisfied Microsoft, and a happy Google

Finally, after weeks and weeks of chaos and confusion, it’s been officially announced that Microsoft – Yahoo deal is not going to happen. Microsoft is fuming at a lost opportunity and Yahoo is having a hard time convincing its shareholders. In the midst of all this, one company is beaming. It goes by the name Google.

If you remember, a lot of bloggers, including yours truly, had predicted what could happen to Google’s dominance if the much hyped Microsoft-Yahoo deal were to materialize. It didn’t happen and now I have my foot firmly in my mouth.

Now, let’s take a look at the situation of all three entities involved – Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google.

Yahoo is perhaps the worst sufferer right now. While Jerry Yang was never interested in Microsoft’s offer, Yahoo’s stockholders thought otherwise. They wanted the deal to go through and salvage the stock price of Yahoo. It didn’t happen and you can already see the effect in its tumbling stock prices.

Microsoft is actually wondering what went wrong with their offer. They offered what was considered a very good price per stock and when Yahoo was not interested, they even raised their offer. But then, Yahoo was not convinced. Microsoft wanted this deal to go through more than anything else, as it would help them grab a significant share of the search engine market. Now, Microsoft has to settle for companies like AOL to form strategic alliances with.

Google is the real winner now, as it’s always been. First, it outbid Microsoft and acquired DoubleClick Inc. Then, it got the FCC to make it mandatory for the winner to open its network to all devices. And now, it has got its biggest competitors Yahoo and Microsoft exactly where it wants. Google is about to get into an ad-partnership with Yahoo wherein it can place its ads in Yahoo’s search engine while Microsoft is left in the lurch.

At the end of the day, Google’s number one position in online search market is safe and now it can continue to concentrate on its new venture of mobile advertising. Initially, Yahoo was going great guns in the mobile world with lots of partnerships and deals that even Google was slightly threatened about its place in the mobile world. Now, Yahoo has lots of business to take care of in its own backyard, Microsoft is not in a position to dominate either the online search or the mobile market, and Google can dutifully work on its Android platform and make it big in the mobile market too.

Given the current position of Yahoo and Microsoft, I don’t think they would be able to challenge Google either in the online search market or in the mobile search and advertising market. In other words, Google’s dominance will continue and there is not a thing Jerry Yang or Steve Ballmer can do about it.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones, Yahoo, Microsoft.

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What does Verizon’s victory in the auction mean to Vodafone?

The impact of the FCC’s 700 MHz auction is amazing. I mean, who would have ever thought that the results of FCC auction could have an impact on the stockholders of Vodafone? Confused? Read on.

Verizon Wireless, in case you don’t know, is a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone. Now, as we all know, Verizon has won a major chunk of the wireless spectrum in the recently concluded auction. It paid close to an astronomical $5 billion for the licenses it acquired and it has got reflected in the stock prices of Vodafone.

Investec, a prominent South African bank, has advised its clients to sell Vodafone shares as it predicts its dividend payments to be delayed. Now, I’m not a stock market analyst or something. In fact, I have no idea of anything remotely associated with stock market. Could someone explain this?

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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Is Google the real winner in the FCC auction?

Finally, the most anticipated FCC auction for 700 MHz wireless spectrum is over. Verizon and AT&T have acquired a substantial number of licenses. As I promised in my last post, I have to tell you what this means to Google.

First things first. We all know Google is clever. When people went wild with their speculations about the auction, Eric Schmidt would have probably smirked. The reason being – Google probably never intended to win the auction. In fact, even before the auction, it got what it wanted.

The open access theory was formulated by Google and FCC made it clear that the winner of the spectrum should allow their users to choose any handset they want and run any application they want on their mobile phones. In other words, even if Verizon or any other company wins the auction, they will not be able to make their subscribers use a particular mobile phone with a particular application. This leaves a gap large enough for Google to bring in its Android supported devices. Clever, isn’t it?

As we already discussed, the costs involved in running a network are huge and Google never actually intended to do that. Instead, it will make money, irrespective of who wins the auction, through mobile advertising.

Now, at the end of the auction, Google actually didn’t win any license. But instead, it made Verizon and AT&T pay big bucks for the licenses. Now, Google will be happy to introduce its Android based mobile phones with tons of applications, which people will be happy to use. So, without spending big bucks for licenses in the auction, Google will be able to make money – through advertising.

Now, is that brilliant or what?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones.

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FCC auction for wireless spectrum - results

The most awaited FCC’s 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction has come to an end. The results are out. The total amount kept climbing up further and it finally ended at a whopping $19.6 billion. This was a little more than what yours truly had expected.

Alright; who won it? That’s the million dollar question. Or rather, a billion dollar question. Verizon, as most of us expected, has walked away with a huge number of licenses. AT&T came second, winning a considerable number of small licenses.

Verizon was the huge winner in the coveted C Block of the spectrum. It won six regional licenses which are large enough to help it make a national level impact. It also ended wrapping up 77 small licenses in the B Block of the spectrum. Verizon, according to sources, paid a whopping $4.7 billion.

AT&T grabbed 227 small licenses which it plans to use to improve its coverage in the weaker areas. The amount paid by Verizon and AT&T comes to a mind boggling $16 billion.

Wait a sec; did I miss out something? Well; the big daddy G. What about Google? Well; it’s a brilliant story. I’ll come up with a separate post on that.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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FCC auction for wireless spectrum - More speculations

You might have probably heard about the hugely popular FCC Auction for wireless spectrum, which is undoubtedly one of the most talked about issues for quite some time now. If you haven’t got a clue as to what it is, I’d suggest you to read this piece and then continue with this post.

The news about FCC auction takes a new twist and turn every now and then and it’s nothing short of a Sidney Sheldon novel when it comes to surprises and speculations. First, everyone unanimously suggested that Google will go on to win the auction, no matter how big the prize is. A little while later, when Verizon and AT&T showed great interest in the auction, Verizon was considered the favorite. Considering the rift between Verizon and Google earlier, everyone thought Verizon would be keen to win the auction.

A little while later, there was another conspiracy theory going on – that Google might bid to lose in the auction. The reason stated was that the winner needs to open up his network to his competitors anyway, so Google might lose the auction and still get a piece of the spectrum. Now, it’s another theory. This time, it’s even more surprising.

The costs involved in building a wireless network and operating it will be enormous. In fact, it is said that it would take around $15 billion and three years to build a new network. So, rumor has it that Google might actually take part in the auction to hike the price and would lose voluntarily at the last moment, only to see the winner buy the slice of the spectrum at an enormous price. After some time, when the winning company has piled on a lot of debt, Google might actually hold the upper hand and bargain for whatever it wants.

All I can say is – wow. These speculations would make even the best of novelists ashamed of themselves. Sometimes, truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction. So, let’s keep our eyes wide open and get prepared for the auction.

Categories: Google.

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