Google CEO Says It Will 'Probably' Bid On Spectrum Licenses

from the here-comes-the-cash dept

Thu, Aug 23rd 2007 2:06am — Carlo Longino

Google has been making noise for some time about getting its hands on some wireless spectrum licenses. It's been behind a push to get the FCC to institute "open access" rules for license winners in the upcoming auction of 700 MHz spectrum, and the FCC implemented a couple of rather meaningless conditions to certain licenses in the auction. Google's main goal was to get the FCC to force license winners to offer wholesale access to their networks to anyone who wanted to buy it -- making it clear that Google's real interest isn't in acquiring spectrum licenses and building a network of its own, but rather having the ability to buy wholesale network access, and to do so in a competitive market. Google's push to get the FCC to create this market for free failed; now, Google's CEO says the company will "probably" bid in the auction. If Google were to win some licenses, it could choose to lease them to network operators in exchange for network access, with whatever conditions it wants to attach. This could achieve the same end result -- a marketplace with several bidders competing for Google's business -- as the getting the FCC to mandate open access. Obviously Google would rather have gone down that route than having to shell out several billion dollars for the licenses. Either way, don't expect Google to begin building its own physical network, but its motives in acquiring and redistributing access either as a virtual operator or in some other way are clear.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: fcc, open access, spectrum, wireless
Companies: fcc, google

5 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

IF, 23 Aug 2007 @ 3:56am

end user
how do we think this will effect the end user? like, what services will google be providing to me?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nick, 23 Aug 2007 @ 5:37am

Re: end user
It will probably mean steps towards Google's goal of having access to their online services available anywhere and thus internet available across the 700mhz spectrum so you can get on the web (and thus Google Apps) anywhere across the countryside.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bill, 23 Aug 2007 @ 7:59am

Complete Access
I think that Google's intentions are clear. If the internet is freely available to everyone then internet will truly become the dominant medium for information and entertainment. From Google's perspective this would mean huge increases in ad revenue.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ksk, 23 Aug 2007 @ 8:35am

Google vs Wireless access providers
Does this mean that Google applications on any Cell phone / PDA can directly access the Google network and pull data.

Now a wireless User by default needs to access the wireless providers data services.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TL, 24 Aug 2007 @ 7:50am

Re: Complete Access
Uh, right. And how will the Internet be freely available to all? Google will have to pay for the spectrum. Someone will have to build the networks. End users will have to buy the compatible devices, which, depending on if they are dual-mode, may or may not work with cellular networks, which have been building up their coverage for some 10-20 years, depending on providers. Where is "freely available" in all of this?
[ link to this | view in thread ]