The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it is allowing search engine provider Google to bid in the upcoming auction of wireless airwaves.Last month, the commission revealed that Google's bid had been "accepted for filing".
According to FCC documents, the firm plans to put forward up to $4.5 billion for the airwaves, which it says it will use to expand its network and services.
However, according to some experts, Google may intentionally lose its bid because it has already successfully lobbied to persuade US regulators to force the winning company to open up its network to competing mobile service providers.
Therefore, Google could potentially still have access to the airwaves without having to build its own costly network, the experts add.
For example, Todd Dagres of venture capital firm Spark Capital stated his belief that the firm is going to get what it wants "without having to put up billions of dollars", Bloomberg reported.
The auction is scheduled to begin on January 24th and is expected to raise at least $10 billion for the US treasury. The airwaves will become available in 2009 and could provide companies with the opportunity to offer mobile and internet services.
Other firms who have had their bids officially accepted include Verizon Wireless, Cablevision, Vodafone and PowerRating. In total, 214 companies are set to battle for ownership of the airwaves.
