Google: We never intended to win 700 MHz licenses

Now that the 700 MHz auction winners are revealing their plans for the spectrum, Google is admitting it bid in the auction but never really intended to win the spectrum.

Instead, in a corporate blog, Google lawyers say that Google's game plan was to make sure bidding on the C block reached the $4.6 billion reserve price that would trigger the important open access conditions. "We were also prepared to gain the nationwide C block licenses at a price somewhat higher than the reserve price; in fact, for many days during the early course of the auction, we were the high bidder. But it was clear, then and now, that Verizon Wireless ultimately was motivated to bid higher (and had far more financial incentive to gain the licenses)."

For more, see this article from TheStreet.com [1].

Related stories:
Is 'open network' just marketing hype? Editorial [2]
Verizon, AT&T big winners in 700 MHz auction Article [3]
FierceWireless' special coverage of the 700 MHz auction Coverage [4]