Airwaves auction bidder must open up network

0 Comments | USA TODAY, February, 2008 | by Paul Davidson

A federal auction of wireless airwaves reached a milestone Thursday, drawing a $4.71 billion bid for a key chunk of spectrum and triggering a requirement that the winner open its network to any device or application.

Customers of the winning bidder will gain the freedom to use virtually any handset or software they choose instead of being restricted to those offered by their wireless carrier.

Winners won't be identified until the auction is completed, but analysts say the most likely suitors for the open-access spectrum, called the C-block, are Verizon and Google.

The Federal Communications Commission's week-old auction has raised a record $15.6 billion for the government with several weeks of bidding left.

The commitment to an "open...