Google to join 700Mhz auction, if conditions are met

Like Donald Trump walking into a casino, Google is set to turn some heads at the FCC's upcoming 700Mhz spectrum auction. The search company with the deep pockets announced it will pony up the dough for the minimum bid--all $4.6 billion of it--if the FCC agrees to meet certain conditions regarding the use of the spectrum. And what, pray tell, might those conditions be? Google wants the FCC to allow for "open applications, open devices, open networks, and open services" on the 700Mhz band. Funny, those "demands" sound awfully similar to the guidelines that FCC chairman Kevin Martin proposed for the spectrum just over a week ago. Looks like this spectrum auction just got a lot more interesting--not to mention a lot scarier for the likes of AT&T and Verizon.

For more on Google's spectrum bid:
- see this article from FierceWireless
- and this article from The Street