November 4, 2008: Decisions, decisions: VZW-Alltel, white spaces and open access

Anticipation has reached a fever pitch in the wireless industry today as the FCC is in the process of voting on a number of key decisions that will shape the the industry for years to come.

The first major decision is whether or not to greenlight Verizon Wireless' acquisition of Alltel, which would make the carrier the largest operator in North America--any way you look at it. Analysts say the carrier is looking for a decision ahead of the national election results to ensure the pricetag remains the same--a Democrat in the White House and chairing the FCC could lead to higher regulatory fees associated with the deal, some policy analysts say.

The second major vote will be on Sprint and Clearwire's WiMAX merger. The $14.5 billion deal sees Sprint pooling all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and its WiMAX assets into the new Clearwire.

The open access lobbying wars also recently picked up where they left off earlier in the year: Google has been lobbying the FCC to clarify in what ways Verizon Wireless must abide by the open access rules that were part of its winning bid on the upper C Block of spectrum in the 700 MHz auction this time last year. The FCC looks poised to offer a clearer picture of how open Verizon Wireless' future network must be. Google has worried that Verizon "may exclude its handsets from the open access condition."

It's a big day for votes in the U.S. so tune in next week to find out what happens next and gain a deeper insight into the FCC meeting today by reading our weekly columnist, Rethink Research's Caroline Gabriel's column below.