The FCC is about to auction off the 700Mhz spectrum-a bunch of radio frequencies used for high-speed communications, including the data connectivity of smartphones and PDAs.

Google has promised the government agency that the internet company will spend at least $4.6 billion in the auction-if the FCC will require the auction winners to follow four "openness" principles:

• Open applications: consumers should be able to download and utilize any software applications, content, or services they like;


• Open devices: consumers should be able to utilize their handheld communications device with whichever wireless network they prefer


• Open services: third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and


• Open networks: third parties (like ISPs) should be able to interconnect at any technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee's wireless network.

Google's offer is more about publicity and less about spending. Granted, it can easily pay up, but it's unlikely that the FCC will accept the proposal. If only to avoid looking like it's caving in to outside pressure.

No, the $4.6 Billion offer is about building publicity for an issue Google considers important: the openness of data networks. I just wonder though if the company needs to take a more active role in educating people about this initiative. Not everyone immediately understands the concept of wireless spectrum auctions, and what they mean in the long run.