Google Wins FCC Auction: It Comes Away Empty-Handed
March 21, 2008
Left out in the cold with no licenses in the 700 MHz spectrum auction this week, Google promises to be the company that will eventually come in from the cold, using its open-source Android operating system to enter the mobile phone market in a big way.
That is, if Verizon Wireless, which won the lion’s share of the coveted C-Block spectrum in the FCC auction, doesn’t get in Google’s way.
Here is the back story: Months before the auction got underway, Google announced it wanted to insure the FCC would set aside some spectrum for open access whereby consumers would be able to use interchangeable devices and services on the spectrum. Verizon Wireless and AT&T initially opposed the idea, but then relented as FCC Chairman Kevin Martin went along with Google’s proposal.
So now with Verizon Wireless in the proverbial catbird’s seat, it is preparing to open up its wireless network, but under its own terms. Verizon Communications’ chairman and chief executive Ivan Seidenberg this week told a developers group that the company is drawing up certification measures so non-Verizon Wireless devices and services can operate on its network by the end of he year.
“The next wave of growth will come from a whole new generation of devices,” Seidenberg told the developers. “Our goal is to make our network the on-ramp for the next phase of wireless innovation.”
The big question for Google now is whether and how difficult it will be for its Android project to develop devices and services for Verizon Wireless networks.
Google initially hailed the results of the auction in spite of the fact that it had initially bid for the C-Block spectrum, but came away empty-handed. In their blog, Google’s top lawyers, Richard Whitt and Joseph Faber, said:
“Consumers whose devices use the C-Block of spectrum soon will be able to use any wireless device they wish, and download to their devices any applications and content they wish.”
The attorneys didn’t say so, but consumers will also be able to watch lots of Google-sponsored ads on their handsets, too, even if they don’t necessarily wish to.
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