Google have filed a petition asking Verizon to pledge that it will commit to the open access rules set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on a band of spectrum the company acquired at the recent 700MHz auction.Verizon was the winner of the C-Block licenses in the 700MHz spectrum, with a bid of $4.7 billion at an auction that raised a record $19.6 billion for the U.S. Treasury. They plan to use the newly acquired spectrum to develop their 4G wireless broadband network, with CEO Lowell McAdam telling investors that "with the 700MHz C Block, we're in a premier position to provide the fastest (network) and most complete footprint across the country".
The FCC had previously set rules for the C Block licenses requiring the winner to allow any device to connect to the network, and to allow any application to be downloaded on those devices. However, Google has concerns about Verizon's commitment to stick to these rules, so much so that they have filed a petition asking the FCC to acquire a pledge from Verizon before granting them the licenses. Google lawyers wrote that "the commission must ensure that Verizon understands that this license obligation means what it says: any apps, any devices".
Verizon initially opposed the open access rules, having filed a lawsuit (which was later dropped) against the FCC asking the agency to drop the rules from the auction. They then later stated that the FCC could not force the auction winners to allow open access. Google contends that Verizon have also previously argued that the rules should only apply to devices that consumers bring to the network, and not to those which Verizon sells to its customers.
Google have always been strong supporters of the open access rules, previously lobbying the FCC to include the rules in the auction. The search engine giant maintains that they are filing the petition to ensure that these rules are followed, not to stop Verizon from gaining the licenses. Richard Whitt, the Washington telecom and media counsel for Google who signed the petition stated that "what it comes down to is we want to make sure that Verizon Wireless acknowledges and accepts the conditions put on these licenses by the majority of the FCC".
Verizon have two weeks to file a reply to Google, however they do not appear to be worried by the petition, a spokesman for the company telling CNET that "Google's filing has no legal standing".
