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Google Inches Towards Wireless Airwaves Bid

6:15 am on November 20, 2007 | Category: Business, Regulation, Web Services, Wireless

Internet search and advertising giant, Google Inc., is going ahead with plans to bid in America’s next wireless spectrum auction, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Although Google has not yet made an official decision regarding its participation in the 700-MHz auction scheduled to begin on January 24, it is “making all the necessary preparations to become an applicant to bid in the auction” before the December 3 deadline.

Google executives discussed the auction with regulatory officials, including FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, earlier this month and is “inching more towards” making a bid, one source said.

If Google participates in the upcoming auction, it is expected to do so alone, potentially pitting it against leading cell phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel. Sources say that it is “within the realm of possibility,” however, that the internet giant could recruit partners in the wireless industry if and when it acquires its own wireless spectrum licenses.

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