Get yourself some Verizon stock while it's still cheap

Nude_IHB

Nude_IHB

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<p>First the headline: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN2042023420080320?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews">Verizon and AT&T win big at airwave auction</a></p>

<p>Now the details:</p>

<p><em>Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with Vodafone Group Plc, won the nationwide "C" block of the auction, giving it control of a major piece of the airwaves being vacated by television broadcasters as they move to digital signals in early 2009.</em></p>

<p><em>The 700-megahertz spectrum is considered valuable because it can go long distances and penetrate thick walls.</em></p>

<p>Here is why it matters:</p>

<p>The lower the frequency, the farther it travels. This reduces the number of cell towers needed and the battery power need to keep a connection with the tower; better connections and longer talk times with lower infrastructure cost. But wait...there's more! </p>

<p>Last November, Verizon announced a major shift in it's future plans. They are moving away from their CDMA-based network in favor of a new GSM-based standard for 4th generation wireless technology (4G) called LTE. This brings them in line with Vodafone and will finally allow their phones to work internationally as the other GSM phones can. This will raise their average revenue per user, allow them to agressively court enterprise level business, and provide cable-like data speeds over their cell network, and all at a lower cost since they are sharing the R&D costs with Vodaphone. But wait... there's more! </p>

<p>This block of airwaves comes with a requirement that any device be allowed to "hook" into it, ending the need for you to chose a company specific device to use their service. This means that you can buy the European versions for use here, and vice-versa. That kind of freedom also means companies are free to develop phones for use on Verizon's network without having to pay any kickbacks or make any exclusivity deals. More choices for the customer means more people are likely to stay with Verizon and just buy a new device from where ever they want.</p>

<p>Add that all together and 2010 looks like a banner year for Verizon. Right now the stock is off it's 52-week high by about $10. While the wireless industry may have been part of the "nice-to-have" sector a decade ago, people have dropped their landlines in favor of cell phones at increasing rates. The industry is far more recession proof now than it was then. Sprint-Nextel probably won't survive because they just suck on all levels, and AT&T has more issues than I care to list but the biggest one is that they lost this spectrum. So, based on the fundamentals as I have laid them out, Verizon is going to have a large competitive advantage when they roll this network out and the price of it's stock hasn't been this low in two years which means the profit potential for a long-term hold is there.</p>
 
<p> </p>

<p>Before you jump.... VZ been in the same 36 dollar range for about 5 years now. soild company but i don't think they will make any major break though. Since they have to share the network. They can't block it from others. so no monopoly and they paid 9.36 billion. quite alot of money. Good soild stock though.</p>

<p> </p>

The so-called “open access rules” associated with the C block were championed by Google, which lobbied hard to have the FCC put those restrictions in place.



“Verizon must let any device run on the network, breaking a phone-company pattern of limiting the products they support,” Bloomberg said in its report.



Altogether, Verizon spent 9.36 billion during the auction to purchase 25 licenses, Bloomberg said. shelled out $6.6 billion for 227 licenses.















Nude- do you have any good stock that is around 10 dollars or less? with a major growth potential? am i asking too much?
 
Nude- What do you think of NVDA? i play alot of games so i might be bias so i would like to hear what other have to say....
 
<p>jb,</p>

<p>They aren't sharing the network. Currently, the only devices you can use with Verizon are ones they have approved and sell which prevents Google or Apple from designing a phone for Verizon users without signing a deal with the devil. The open access rule changes that, but you still have to have service with Verizon to use your device on that network or your wireless carrier has to have a roaming agreement in place with Verizon. Their monopoly on the C-block is intact and absolute, even if they have to allow Apple iPhones the ability to access it.</p>

<p>As for $10 stocks with growth potential, scrub the list of winners from the FCC for public companies in areas that AT&T doesn't currently cover. AT&T has a bunch of holes to fill and now they have to play catch up with Verizon so they will be looking to buy up regional carriers with B-block licenses.</p>
 
<p>“Verizon must let any device run on the network, breaking a phone-company pattern of limiting the products they support,” Bloomberg said in its report.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Doesn't this mean that once they switch over to GSM that any device with a GSM can be use on their network? Sorta like the Iphone was locked into cingular but now it is unlock and you can use it on t-mobile also. Plus doesn't also mean that the other network can use VZ system but they have to pay a fee? Kinda of like VZ using time warner cable line to deliver their fiber optic TV and internet to people house?</p>
 
<p>Jbatz, </p>

<p> To answer your question, yes and no. But mostly yes.... BUT this is why I favor CDMA technology alot more than GSM, almost any idiot can listen to it, CDMA its a wee bit more difficult....</p>

<p>good luck</p>

<p>-bix</p>
 
<p>jbatzmaru:</p>

<p>NVDA is a good company. Great technology, and got a nice deal with Microsoft as the video chipset provider for the Xbox 360. I think you are going to see their stocks increase in value this coming November when the gaming season starts, and millions of people have to upgrade just to have a shot at playing the latest and greatest. Specifically, the next big game is probably Blizzard's StarCraft 2. Then again, you probably already know that by now. :)</p>

<p> </p>
 
<p><em>Nude- What do you think of NVDA? i play alot of games so i might be bias so i would like to hear what other have to say....</em></p>

<p>Well, my expertise isn't in the hardware field. The only reason I started this thread is because I have some background in the wireless industry. But I'll toss in my two cents.</p>

<p>I love nVidia, but they are stuck waiting on Vista to take off and they face the same problems as all the other chip makers who are dealing with a slowdown in consumer spending. The reason Vista is holding them back is pretty simple: DirectX 10. nVidia makes the best graphics CPU for DirectX10 (really, the competition isn't even close) but until there is widespread adoption of Vista, there is no real demand for the card. I am a perfect example of this phenomenon. I have a high-end desktop that is fully Vista Premium ready, I can run any video card currently available, my wife works for Microsoft, and yet I am running XP and an nVidia GeForce 7900 GS. Why? Because I am waiting for Vista SP1, at least, and there is no point in buying a high-end card that can't reach it's potential with XP. When you combine that with a general slow down in consumer spending, nVidia's stock price seems doomed to linger in the $20-$30 range for a while.</p>
 
Having used Windows since early 90s. Microsoft products are usually pretty stable after SP1 is released. Like Nude mentioned, you are not going to get the core users to migrate from XP to Vista before then.
 
<p><em>Doesn't this mean that once they switch over to GSM that any device with a GSM can be use on their network? Sorta like the Iphone was locked into cingular but now it is unlock and you can use it on t-mobile also. Plus doesn't also mean that the other network can use VZ system but they have to pay a fee? Kinda of like VZ using time warner cable line to deliver their fiber optic TV and internet to people house?</em></p>

<p>You are confusing some things. Despite what bix says, it's not all that easy to switch devices from one carrier to another. Let me explain.</p>

<p>GSM devices use a SIM card to identify itself with a network. This is what tells the network who you are, what your phone number is, and what kind of account you have. But the device itself is 'locked' to only one brand of SIM card, which is why you can't use an AT&T phone on a T-Mobile network, even though they are both GSM. You can get the unlock code, sometimes, and then use a T-Mobile SIM card in a AT&T device... or vice-versa. Verizon uses a different technology (CDMA), so it is impossible to use a GSM phone on a Verizon network. But, Sprint uses CDMA too so it is possible to use a Sprint phone on a Verizon network.</p>

<p>"Roaming" can only occur if the networks use the same technology and the phone being locked makes no difference. The ability to roam is stored in the SIM card on GSM phones, and in the on-board memory of CDMA phones, and is called a 'roaming agreement'. They are negotiated frequently among the carriers and some areas can be blocked out from one week to the next.</p>

<p>The 'open access' requirement simply means that Verizon cannot prevent Google from making a Verizon-specific device. If one of their customers buys a phone from Google that was designed to be used on Verizon's network, they have to allow access to all services for which the customer is being charged. AT&T customers can not use the Verizon network under this regulation anymore than they can now.</p>
 
We use Verizon and LOVE it. Hubby is on his cell phone constantly 10 hours per day - and he loves it as well. We've tried other wireless companies, and Verizon by far has the best service that we've noticed. We always seem to have a signal - and we live in the boonies.
 
Nude,



What do you think of Alltel? Don't you think VZ's new spectrum will give Alltel a run for their money in the rural areas?
 
<p>Honestly? Yes, but I think that gets mitigated when Alltel buys Sprint. </p>

<p>By that I mean that the private equity firms that purchased Alltel will buy Sprint for a song. The technology would be a match, they would triple the size of their network, and they could rebrand Nextel as a business service. Sprint really wouldn't have anything to lose in the deal, since Sprint really has zero chance of getting back to national prominence on it's own; they are bleeding cash and customers and can no longer afford to keep up with the kind of cap expenditures that Verizon and AT&T are laying out. The shareholders would sign off on it, since it represents the best deal they could get.</p>

<p>If that isn't the way Alltel decides to go, then I expect that Verizon will end up selling their CDMA equipment to Alltel as they roll out their new tech on the new spectrum, which would effectively give them a nationwide network, albeit on older technology. I think Verizon does it to recoup costs, and aren't really worried about Alltel as competition. Since most cell companies share towers anyway, this deal could happen regardless of whether Alltel and Sprint merge.</p>

<p>I must point out, this is all random speculation. I have zero inside information, I am just contemplating possibilities based on experience.</p>
 
PeterUK,





It depends on how active you are. If you trade a great deal, <a href="http://www.tradestation.com/default_2.shtm">Tradestation </a>is the way to go. Trades cost $1 per 100 shares, $1 options, $2.5 futures contracts, etc. There is a $100 a month fee if you do not trade frequently.
 
i agree verizon is the better network and the better phone company. but at&t is the better stock at this point. it's cheaper with respect to growth while verizon is not expensive but has more of its future growth priced in. Remember at&t is not just phones. Their T-1 business is huge. both stocks are good for now because of a solid dividend which is great in times where your savings account can't even beat inflation.



of course the ultimate recession stock if you guys are looking to buy is still altria(mo). people aren't going to stop smoking and it has huge growth in europe. Just my take guys =) Full disclosure: I currently own MO.
 
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