MOUNTAIN VIEW (WiMAX Day). To ensure it has an upper hand in shaping the brave new world of mobile Internet, Google has its eyes on the fundamental key to a turned-on ecosystem: the pipeline itself.

The open-information czar announced it will submit an application today for a chance to bid on the “C Block” of 700 MHz spectrum to be auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on January 24, 2008, which has a reserve price of US$4.6 billion. Google said it’s application “does not include any partners.”

The  “C Block” frequency band will be auctioned for use with “open” devices. In other words, a winning bidder would be required  to allow any device to connect to the network, using any software or application they may choose. Kevin Martin, the FCC chairman, has made “open” a non-negotiable term for whoever wins a license to the C Block of 700 MHz spectrum. In Martin’s view, vendor lock-ins and upgrade serfdoms are unwelcome neighbors on the C Block.

This chunk of spectrum offers enviable economics for a company like Google that wants to spread access fast and wide.

“We believe it’s important to put our money where our principles are,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. “Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today’s wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet.”

As it stands to date, Google has struck a favorable chord with the FCC Chairman, who has thrown his support behind Google’s Open Handset Alliance. When news of the open alliance was announced in November, Martin issued a congratulatory statement: “I continue to believe that more openness – at the network, device, or application level – helps to foster innovation and enhances consumers’ freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service.”

The auction is expected to last for several weeks or months, with daily bidding via a complex on-line system designed to inhibit any collusion amongst bidders.

While Google has been the most vocal about the auction, it will not be alone in its bid for the frequencies. This spectrum is part of the 698-806 MHz band, which was previously occupied by television broadcasters and is being made available for new commercial and public safety services as a result of the transition from analogue to digital television in America.

The “700 MHz band” will be auctioned in five blocks, labeled A through E. Four of the five blocks will be divided by region, and the D block, with 10 MHz bandwidth, will be offered as a national license.

According to the FCC, these licenses may be used for “flexible fixed, mobile, and broadcast uses, including fixed and mobile wireless commercial services (including FDD- and TDD-based services).” While Google has not divulged what technology it might consider for the deployment of a wireless network, several sources surmise that WiMAX is the most likely candidate. However there is no standard profile for the operation of WiMAX in the 700 MHz frequency band, although such a profile might be considered for certification by the WiMAX Forum, especially since the 698-806 MHz band was recognised by the World Radiocommunication Conference last month as globally harmonized spectrum identified for use by International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) services.

It is expected that the American telco networks AT&T and Verizon also have an eye of the spectrum. Indeed, Verizon announced last week that it would embrace the “open network” mantra sung by Google, although some analysts say that Verizon was merely “posturing” in front of the auction application deadline.

As January draws near, some inevitable scenarios and ruminations will be about how businesses like AT&T might behave as spectrum bidders. Likely adjuncts with those questions are how open a playing field will they tolerate?