Wireless bids pass $11.57 billion

Life is good if you are an FCC commissioner reporting to the powers that be about bringing in revenues. As for the rest of us, it’s a mixed bag. The open access rules on the C block will not kick in until the $4.7 billion reserve is met, and that has not happened so far. Is Google taking donations?

Bidding topped $11.57 billion on the fifth day of the U.S. government auction of coveted 700-megahertz airwaves.

The figure represented the highest bids received for five separate blocks of spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission auction.

Bidding on a piece of the airwaves known as the “C” block reached $4.29 billion in the first round on Wednesday, approaching the $4.7 billion minimum price set by the FCC. But there were no further bids on it for the remainder of the day.

If bidders surpass the $4.7 billion threshold, it would trigger a requirement sought by Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) that would require the winning bidder to open the C block spectrum to all devices and software applications. (from Reuters)