Google said on Friday that it would take part in an upcoming auction of wireless spectrum airwaves, provided the Federal Communications Commission takes steps to open the wireless market to other than the carrier players.
The search engine giant said it would ante up a $4.6 billion spectrum bid — the minimum requirement for participation in the sale, slated for later this year — if the FCC orders the winning bidders to resell a portion of their frequencies to companies who will give the major wireless carriers some competition.
“When Americans can use the software and handsets of their choice, over open and competitive networks, they win,” Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin.
Google could stand to benefit greatly from owning wireless spectrum, which would guarantee greater prominence for its mobile ads and applications than it might otherwise get from the “walled garden” services approach favored by most wireless carriers.
Two weeks ago, Martin laid out some proposed rules for the spectrum obtained in the auction. These included support for the widest range of mobile handsets and software, but not a plan such as Google is proposing.
Traditional wireless carriers complained that Google was trying to overpower other potential buyers and influence the commission by dangling a multi-billion-dollar carrot.
“This is an attempt to pressure the U.S. government to turn the auction process on its head by ensuring only a few, if any, bidders will compete with Google,” AT&T senior executive vice president for government affairs Jim Cicconi said in a release.
The auction, which must take place by January 28, 2008, is widely seen as the last chance to add new competitive vigor to the wireless marketplace. A draft proposal for the auction must be approved by a full vote of the five FCC commissioners; that could happen as early as the end of July.
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