Shaun Nichols in California, vnunet.com01 Feb 2008
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An open broadband wireless network in the US moved one step closer to reality
today.
The
US
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that bidding on the 700MHz
C-block had surpassed the $4.6bn reserve, meaning that the winner of the auction
will be forced to
open the network
to all mobile devices.
The top bid on the block at 5:30pm Pacific time on 31 January stood at
roughly $4.71bn.
The identity of the top bidders is being kept secret to prevent collusion,
but Google,
AT&T and
Verizon
are among those expected to be taking part.
At the end of each round, the highest bid is announced and a new round
begins. The auction ends when a round closes with no new bids being entered.
While significant, the news was not unexpected. Google pledged in July to bid
at least enough in the auction to
meet
the reserve price, but the final cost of the band is expected to be higher.
The search giant was one of the major backers of FCC president Kevin Martin's
plan to open the spectrum to all devices.
Wireless carriers blasted the plan as 'Silicon Valley welfare', however, and
accused the FCC of allowing Google to rig the auction in its favour.
Verizon went so far as to
sue the
FCC over the rule, although the case was dropped shortly after being filed.
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