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AUSTIN, Texas - Internet search leader Google is ready to bid at least $4.6 billion in a January Federal  Communications Commission auction for a portion of wireless spectrum it could use to provide mobile phone and Internet services, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the situation. A Google Convergence The report leaves open the possibility that Google may be looking beyond the FCC auction to operating its own mobile network, which would see the company in a new role even beyond the ambitious plans it has unveiled during the past several weeks. Google recently announced plans to expand its vastly successful Internet search and advertising business to include cell phones by way of the company's Open Handset Alliance platform, and social networking through its new OpenSocial framework. Google has also entered into the traditional mediums of radio, television and newspapers, as well as such novel areas as the local gas pump as the result of a partnership announced last week. FCC Auction Details When the FCC auction takes place in January, Google and others will be bidding on a portion of the airwave spectrum around 700 megahertz previously used for analog television signals, which is well suited for providing  wireless service because of its ability to travel long distances and to easily penetrate walls. The frequencies being auctioned are expected to garner the most money ever for an FCC auction. Google is expecting to finance its bid using cash and perhaps borrowed money, according to the Journal report. The $4.6 billion figure represents the auction's reserve price, which Google agreed to meet if the FCC implemented four "open access" provisions. Two of the provisions Google pushed for, allowing customers to use any device or software on the new spectrum, were implemented, while the two others which dealt with allowing the eventual winner to provide access to rivals on a wholesale basis, were not included. Even without all of the provisions Google had wanted, a bid by the company seems likely. A company spokesman told the London Times that it was making "all necessary preparations to become an applicant in the auction". Wireless Preparations Taking Place Google is already testing its own advanced wireless network at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, in addition to providing free Wi-Fi service to the city. Should Google be the highest bidder and win the spectrum auction it will be poised to change the way the wireless world operates, potentially bringing more powerful applications to a wider range of mobile devices accessing a less expensive high-speed mobile Internet. The Ire of Current Carriers If successful the moves will put Google in a new business, and is likely to draw the ire of existing  telecommunications companies offering mobile service, including several that already have agreements with Google, which contends that it simply wishes to open up mobile networks so that consumers can move handsets between wireless carriers and access all Web applications and services. Having a more open wireless network would most likely ease any fears Google might have that existing Internet and mobile access providers could start charging it to deliver Google services to customers over their connections, or even put measures in place making it harder for customers to use those Google services. Even though these fears may be unfounded, Google is most certainly aware that carriers such as Verizon Wireless have policies in place which, in the name of network security and customer privacy, keep their networks closely guarded. Google executives have said that eventually advertising could be used to subsidize any future mobile services or even handsets, a prospect that may cause possible fellow bidders in the FCC auction such as Verizon and AT&T to place added importance on winning the spectrum war. Many hope that once the spectrum auction is complete, new wireless Internet access will become available for the first time to the portions of the U.S. which currently don't have any access, whether it is provided through Google or another company. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made it publicly known that the company will probably bid in the FCC auction, however at present no definitive statement of its intent to bid has been issued. Google's $4.6+ Billion Wireless Spectrum Bid December 3 is the FCC deadline for companies to provide notification that they plan to bid for the valuable spectrum, and Google is expected to reveal its plans before then. A Google spokesman told the Journal, "Our goal is to make sure that American consumers have more choices in an open and competitive wireless world," and should it win the January auction, Google could begin delivering wireless phone and Internet services as early as the beginning of 2009, when the government is expected to release the spectrum to the winning bidder, which will find itself with a big prize in the $95 billion U.S. wireless market. Related Links:
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10:34 pm on Nov. 16, 2007 (utc 0)