Google has asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to obtain a pledge
from Verizon Wireless that it will honor the open-access conditions on a band
of 700MHz spectrum before selling the spectrum to the carrier.

Google, in a filing with the FCC Friday, raised concerns that Verizon Wireless
wasn't committed to the open-access rules the FCC put on the nationwide C block
of the 700MHz spectrum the agency sold in an auction ending in mid-March. The
FCC's open-access rules required the winner of the C block to allow customers
to connect wireless devices of their choosing and run any applications on the
network using the C block.

Google's filing doesn't explicitly spell out what the company wants the FCC
to do if Verizon doesn't pledge to follow the open-access rules, but it implies
that the FCC shouldn't sell Verizon the spectrum in that case.

Before the auction started in late January, Verizon Wireless opposed the open-access
rules, Google's lawyers wrote in the FCC
filing.

A Verizon official in October talked about a two-tier system in the C block,
where Verizon could continue to sell locked wireless devices in addition to
allowing outside devices that accepted applications of the customer's choosing,
Google's lawyers noted. Verizon, in a filing to the FCC, also said the commission
could not force the C block winner to allow all applications on the network,
the Google filing says.

In addition, Verizon filed a lawsuit in September an attempt to force the FCC
to abandon the open-access rules, the Google filing notes. Although Verizon
later dropped the lawsuit, mobile phone trade group CTIA, which counts Verizon
among its members, has a pending lawsuit against the open-access rules.

"Verizon is not free to self-define the rule to exclude any and all Verizon
devices," Google's lawyers wrote. "The commission must ensure that
Verizon understands that this license obligation means what it says: any apps,
any devices."

In November, Verizon Wireless announced an open network initiative for all
of its current spectrum. The company plans to allow outside wireless devices
to connect to its mobile network by the end of 2008.

Verizon's open development initiative is "alive and well," Verizon said. "We will continue to provide even details on our open development programs as we continue to make progress," the company said. "Google's filing has no legal standing."

Google, along with several consumer groups, pushed for the open-access rules
in the auction for the 700MHz band, which many wireless experts see as spectrum
that's suited for long-range wireless broadband services. Google pledged to
bid at least US$4.6 billion on the C block, but the company lost to Verizon's
$4.7 billion bid.

Google asked the FCC to act quickly to get an open-access pledge from Verizon.

"Action now is especially necessary given the long lead time typically
required for software applications developers and device manufacturers to design,
develop, and deploy their products to the public, as well as the uncertainty
Verizon has introduced publicly regarding its compliance with the open access
obligations," Google's lawyers wrote.

IDG News Service

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