NEWS: Google ponies up $4.6bn for wireless spectrum

<http://www.theregister.com/2007/07/20/google_to_bid_for_wireless_spectrum/>

If the FCC obeys its demands

Google's riches are exceeded only by its cheek. When the Federal
Communications Commission auctions off the coveted 700-MHz wireless
spectrum, the search giant has said it will lay down a bid of $4.6bn
- provided the auction is handled exactly the way Google wants it
handled.

Recently vacated by television channels making the switch to digital
transmission, the 700-MHz band goes up for auction sometime early
next year, and Google has been calling for the FCC to require
"open-access" to the spectrum, arguing that consumers and businesses
should have the freedom to use wireless networks however they choose
- without answering to big-name carriers like AT&T and Verizon. It's
been rumored that Google would bid for the band if the FCC opts for
open-access, but this is the first time the Mountain View outfit has
publicly admitted as much.

"For several years now, many Googlers have been working to identify
the obstacles that prevent the Internet from being available to
everyone on the planet," wrote Chris Sacca, Google's head of special
initiatives, on the company's official blog. "Today, we're putting
consumers' interests first, and putting our money where our
principles are - to the tune of $4.6 billion."

The catch is that the company won't bid unless the FCC adopts all the
open-access requirements it recommended with an electronic filing
early last week. Anyone who wins a 700-MHz license, Google says,
should be required to provide open access to consumers as well as
third-party companies: Consumers should have the freedom to attach
any mobile device to the network and use any application (provided
they don't harm the network); resellers should be able to acquire
wireless bandwidth from 700-MHz licensees on a wholesale basis, so
that they too can offer service to consumers; and ISPs should have
the power to plug into the network at any "feasible" point.

When contacted, the FCC declined to comment, but it doesn't seem that
the draft rules recently laid down by chairman Kevin Martin

(http://www.theregister.com/2007/07/1...n_draft_rules/)
go quite as far as Google would like. Judging from an earlier
conversation with an FCC official, the draft rules fulfill Google's
requirements where consumers are concerned - but not necessarily
third-party companies. Plus, the draft rules apply only to a portion
of the band being auctioned off (22MHz out of 60MHz in total).

Martin's draft rules have yet to be approved by the other FCC
commissioners, and current wireless carriers like Verizon have
vehemently opposed open-access, hoping to retain the current set-up.
You know, the one where they have complete control over the network.

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