Good Morning Silicon Valley

That big crew of lobbyists that Google assembled in D.C. must include some silver-tongued wordslingers. There’s a valuable chunk of radio spectrum coming up for auction in January, and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has apparently sided with Google and others who want part of it kept open to third-party access. In draft auction rules about to be released, Martin has included a requirement that mobile services in that slice of the airwaves would have to allow consumer choice. “Whoever wins this spectrum has to provide … truly open broadband network — one that will open the door to a lot of innovative services for consumers,” Martin told USA Today. In practice, he said, “You can use any wireless device and download any mobile broadband application, with no restrictions.”

As you would expect, the usual consumers of spectrum — the entrenched wireless carriers and cable companies — are less than thrilled about this, as it runs against their usual practice of locking up their resources and customers. That, says Google, keeps innovations away from consumers — the kind of innovations a company like Google might provide. On the company’s Public Policy Blog, counsel Richard Whitt writes, “Over the last several weeks, we’ve been taking a closer look at whether and how Google might participate meaningfully in the auction. As part of that look, we’ve consulted with spectrum auction experts and conducted various game theory scenarios. Our analysis has confirmed that, under the originally proposed rules, the existing national wireless carriers are likely to prevail in the bidding process against a potential new entrant like Google. While we remain interested in the possibility of participating in the auction, it’s clear that the incumbent carriers have built-in advantages that will prove difficult to overcome.” Martin’s proposal would be a “step forward,” he says.