Google Pledging to Bid $4.6bn to Open Spectrum

csuftech writes "According to an article posted on vnunet, Google is pledging to bid at least $4.6bn for the FCC's upcoming auction of the 700MHz spectrum. However, Google would only be willing to pay said amount if the FCC agreed to a few conditions, namely, 'the wireless spectrum would allow consumers to download and use any software apps and content they want; allow handhelds to be used with any carrier; enable resellers to acquire wireless services at wholesale costs; and mandate that third parties such as ISPs interconnect at any point on the 700 megahertz band.' All this was disclosed in a letter [PDF] to FCC president Kevin Martin written by Google CEO Eric Schmidt."

Comments

Is it just me, or

[woodchip]

is it not a bad idea to tell people how much you willing to bid in an upcoming auction?

Re:Is it just me, or

[vertinox]

Google: I'm going to bid $4.6 billion dollars tomorrow at tomorrows auction.

ATT: Cool... (Crap! I know we can't beat them with cash reserves so I'll bid high and force them to spend their fortune for it!)

*The very next day*

Auctioneer: Here we are with a block of airwaves. Starting bid.... One billion dollars....

ATT: $10 BILLION DOLLARS!!

Auctioneer: $10 billion is the current bid. Do I hear $11 billion dollars... Going once...

Google: *yawns*

Auctioneer: Going twice...

ATT: Hey wait a minute!

Auctioneer: Going three times! Sold to the gentleman from ATT for $10 billion dollars.

ATT: But! But! But!

Google: Hey ATT if you don't want those airwaves, give us call us after the opening bell after your quarterly reports and we'll talk.

This just in...

[the.nourse.god]

With 2 seconds left in the auction, AT&T puts in a $4,600,000,001 bid.

Re:Familiar

[Anonymous Coward]

That's why we need the extra spectrum -- carrying all those dupes adds up.

Ditto

[Eco-Mono]

Ditto