Google's Gargantuan Wireless Bid Puts FCC on the Spot

Google (GOOG Quote) is flexing its muscle in the mobile broadband business.

The company said Friday it would bid for $4.6 billion worth of wireless spectrum at a coming federal airwave auction -- but only if the Federal Communications Commission adopts so-called open standards for a speedy wireless broadband alternative to existing phone and cable Internet connections.

A key point of Google's proposal would involve a so-called open devices licensing condition, under which the FCC would mandate that consumers be enabled to use any wireless device on any company's network. The telcos who run the big existing networks oppose this concept. ...