It’s official, Google Inc. will bid in the upcoming 700MHz auction, set to begin Jan. 24.
The search giant said Friday it will vie for its piece of the former UHF airwaves, which could be used for WiMAX and other broadband wireless technologies down the road. There are 1,099 wireless licenses up for grabs, but Google will likely bid on the 22MHz swath that carries open-access mandates to make the network open to any device and provide unfettered access to third-party applications. The minimum bid for the spectrum chunk is $4.6 billion.
Google was instrumental in attaching those open-access requirements to the spectrum, working with the FCC to ensure an environment for consumer choice. "We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," said Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, in a statement. "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet."
Google is mum on what its exact wireless plans are, should it be victorious. Spectrum holders are required to use the spectrum, however, or lose it.
The auction is expected to bring in anywhere from $15 to $30 billion for the U.S. Treasury. The airwaves being auctioned off have been reallocated from UHF TV channels 52 through 69 for use in deploying commercial fixed, mobile and broadcast services (they do not include the portions allocated for public safety and other government uses).
The final slate of participants in the auctions will be known soon. A short-form application to participate in the auction must be filed with the Federal Communications Commission by Dec. 3, and bidders must submit upfront payments by Dec. 28.
The outcome will take a while longer. Due to the FCC’s anonymous bidding process, winners won’t be revealed until the auction officially closes, which will likely be in March.
FCC www.fcc.gov
Google Inc. www.google.com
