This will cause a fair bit of head-scratching… Frontline, the company that was started specifically to bid in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction to build a network to share with first responders, has apparently announced it has “closed for business” and refuses to comment further, according to RCR News. It filled out the application to bid in the auction but refuses to say whether it has submitted the upfront payment required—although if it hasn’t submitted the payment and can’t bid in the auction that pretty much eliminates any reason it has to exist. The FCC hasn’t yet revealed who has made the initial payment, and won’t let the bidding companies talk about what they’re doing. Considering the sheer effort Frontline put into influencing the FCC on the rules for the auction (with success) and the support it garnered, it’s strange that it would suddenly pull out now...unless it’s a victim of the sub-prime mortgage credit crunch balls-up.

Update: GigaOm writes that Frontline “couldn’t raise enough money for the deposit required to participate in the upcoming auction”. The New York Times also writes it was a funding issue: “It was not able to make the required deposit of $128 million that was due last Thursday, a person involved in the company said.”

• FCC To Allow Wholesaling By Small Businesses, Good For Frontline
• AT&T, Frontline Petition FCC To Change 700 MHz Auction Rules
• 700 MHz War: Frontline Challenges Verizon While AT&T Mulls Auction Plans