The second part of Google’s Android plan is about to unfold (OK, the Google version doesn’t look exactly like the character on the left, but you get the point.)
The FCC has confirmed that the boys from Mountain View are on the list of eligible bidders for its much-anticipated wireless auction, which starts next week. If Android (Google’s mobile phone software) is to have life he will need airwaves to ride on, and Verizon’s grand promise last year to open its network to all-comers still feels far too vague. Google must now show whether it is ready to put its money where its mouth is.
Not many surprises jump out of the FCC’s list of 214 qualified bidders, not least because many are shell companies whose real backers are not immediately obvious. Qualcomm is there, as is Chevron (perhaps looking to create a network for remote oilfield monitoring.) Otherwise AT&T and Verizon lead the cast of wireless and cable companies that have jumped the FCC’s pre-auction hurdles.
One name that failed to make the list: Frontline Wireless, a company backed by former FCC chairman Reed Hundt and venture capitalist John Doerr. This is a big loss of face for both men. Frontline used its considerable lobbying power to persuade the FCC to set aside part of the spectrum aside for a joint commercial/ emergency service network. Frontier itself planned to bid for this, but last week conceded that it had failed to raise the money to bid and was shutting up shop. Let’s hope the rest of this widely-anticipated auction fares better.
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