Friday, February 01, 2008

Google wins bid to force open access to airwaves - The Boston Globe

Very interesting case study in policy management

Google Inc. has succeeded in its push to force the winner of airwaves being sold by the government to open its network to any mobile device.

One bidder offered $4.71 billion for the biggest set of airwaves being auctioned, surpassing a $4.6 billion threshold that triggered open-access rules, the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday on its website.

The agency did not reveal which company made the bid.

The rules are designed to boost consumer choice by requiring the winner of the so-called C-block airwaves to let any legal wireless handset or program use the network.

Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, might now exit the auction after winning the conditions, said Jeff Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.

Google wins bid to force open access to airwaves - The Boston Globe

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