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ABI Research reports that DBS operators in the United States have taken an aggressive approach to the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction currently being held by the FCC. A consortium called Wireless DBS qualified as a bidder; it includes EchoStar, DirecTV, News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, and Charles Ergen as interested parties.

However, the DBS operators' bids, although initially among the highest submitted, were largely unsuccessful, and Wireless DBS has dropped out of the bidding. This disappointment has put a damper on plans for the satellite players to launch their own mobile service based on WiMAX and will likely pave the way for a partnership for WiMAX with an operator such as Clearwire. If that proves to be the case, it will represent a significant shot in the arm for the already vibrant WiMAX sector.

"The DBS operators are looking at how they can utilize wireless spectrum for two-way data services as well as mobile voice services," said principal analyst Michael Arden. "The development of a mobile service connected to satellite-video service would be one more piece of a service bundle that would help to reduce customer churn and to create an opportunity for convergence of services -- such as broadcast and mobile video. It looked as though they were well-positioned to become big players directly. However, given their lack of bidding success, they are going to have to rely on partnerships in provisioning mobile services."

Who stands to benefit if the DBS operators choose to use WiMAX to deliver mobile services? ABI Research believes it is likely that they will opt for a partnership model with Clearwire, which would strengthen the company's position as a formidable competitor to Sprint (who is aligned with cable operators) in the WiMAX service provider business.