Companies are finally allowed by auction rules to talk about the recently leased 700MHz spectrum.

"Google didn't pick up any spectrum licenses in the auction. Nonetheless, partly as a result of our bidding, consumers soon should have new freedom to get the most out of their mobile phones and other wireless devices," Google's Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel, and Joseph Faber, Corporate Counsel, said on a company blog, pointing out that the FCC had only adopted 2 of the 4 rules that they were pushing for for the C block. As a consequence, the search engine leader alleges their pledge regarding its use is nullified.

Two months after the auction began and almost $20 billion later, the Federal Communications Commission announced in mid-March the winners of the 700MHz spectrum. The announcement unveiled things that most of us had already expected: AT&T and Verizon were top of the list. On the other hand, Google’s much talked about bids were not enough to grant them any license for the spectrum, but it did show their support for open access.

Verizon Wireless bought the largest block, paying $9.6 billion, while AT&T bid a total of $6.6 billion. EchoStar Corp.’s Frontier Wireless LLC made a $712 million bid, FCC’s report unveiled. At the same time, Qualcomm was the third big name on the list, which according to The Federal Communications Commission, totaled $558 million.

The auction of the 700MHz spectrum will ensure wireless services to rural and urban areas across the United States. Around 75 names won licenses in 305 rural areas of the country, out of a total of 428 Rural Service Area licenses.

The FCC rules on the C block issued last year forbid Verizon to halt or slow down the traffic from competing carriers that use the network. The rules also prevent the carrier from discriminating against devices trying to connect to the network.

"The end of the auction certainly doesn't mark the end of our efforts toward greater wireless choice and innovation. We will weigh in at the FCC as it sets implementation rules for the C Block, and determines how to move forward with a D Block re-auction. Android is already off to a successful start, and we are likely to see handsets later this year based on the Android platform," Google said.