The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2007–2008
FCC auctioned 700MHz spectrum with an open-access condition baked in
Google pledged to bid the 700MHz reserve only if the winner must allow any device and app; the C-block cleared it and the auction raised $19.6B.
Federal Communications Commission · Google · Verizon Wireless
the move
The FCC's 700 MHz auction, Auction 73, opened in January 2008 amid a running fight over open access. Google, preparing to enter wireless, had petitioned the FCC to require that the C-block winner allow any lawful device and application on its network.
The FCC adopted the condition and let the market price it: Google said it would bid at least the $4.6 billion reserve on the C-block if the open rules held. After 261 rounds, gross bids on the twelve C-block licenses reached $4.75 billion — past the threshold — and the open-access rules were automatically triggered.
The auction closed with total winning bids of just under $19.6 billion, nearly double congressional estimates and more than all previous US spectrum auctions combined. The D-block public-safety license missed its reserve, but the rest of the band sold and openness became law for the winner.
why it works
- Conditioning licenses let the FCC buy openness without spending a dollar.
- Google's reserve bid revealed a market price for the public-interest rule.
- Competition, not regulators, decided what the condition cost.
- The record take funded public-safety and DTV transition programs.
what transfers
A market can deliver a public condition: attach it to the license, publish a reserve revealing its worth, and let competition set the price. Bidders internalize the rule instead of litigating it.
what came after
Verizon won most of the C-block and launched its 700 MHz network with the open-platform obligation attached, letting customers use any compatible device and application. The structure — public-interest conditions priced through bidding — became a reference design for later spectrum auctions and open-access debates worldwide.
references
- Statement by Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate on the closing of Auction 73
- The FCC's 700-MHz Auction Raises $19.6B, But Still No Winners List
- Auction 73: 700 MHz Band
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