Cablevision Tops Bids for Wireless Licenses

VOOM, the satellite TV service set to be spun off from New York-area cable company Cablevision Systems Corp., is the top bidder for licenses to build a U.S. wireless video and data network, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

The network would use an emerging technology called MVDDS, or multichannel video distribution and data service, which operates within the same spectrum of broadcast frequencies as satellite television services like DirecTV and DISH Network. But it is transmitted from local microwave towers, allowing the broadcast of local channels and two-way high-speed data.

Satellite TV firms oppose the technology, saying the quality of their product would be hurt because the broadcasting spectrum would become too crowded.