By Yi-Wyn Yen

Google has tussled with everyone from Microsoft to the telcos on Capitol Hill. Now it’s going after television broadcasters and cable companies.

The search king launched its first public advocacy campaign on Monday to encourage consumers to petition the Federal Communications Commission to “free the airwaves.” As the TV industry prepares to switch from analog to digital broadcasting in February, the FCC will decide what happens with the unused radio airwaves. Google wants to to open up the unlicensed airwaves, also known as “white spaces” left vacant by the switch to digital broadcasting.  Google has also lobbied for open-access airwaves for another band of wireless spectrum that the FCC recently auctioned off. The FCC could rule on what it plans to do with the “white spaces” as early as September.

Google (GOOG) is pushing for the FCC to open the unused airwaves to the public. Along with three public interest groups that support unlicensed broadband usage for rural areas and Native Americans, Google has a vested interest in fighting for free wireless spectrum because greater access to Wi-Fi and broadband Internet means more people surfing on Google from anywhere. “Google wants to promote any network that promotes high-speed Internet access,” said Richard Whitt, Google’s telecom and media legal counsel, on a conference call with reporters Monday.

That irks the National Association of Broadcasters, a powerful lobbying group that is backed by network TV companies, cable operators and national sports leagues. “This is a smoke and mirrors PR gimmick,” says Dennis Wharton, the NAB’s executive vice president. “Google wants you to think this about supporting broadband access in rural areas. But if they get what they want with handheld devices or whatever application devices, it could cause TV interference on a dramatic level in urban markets.”

The NAB is lobbying the FCC to police the unused airwaves through spectrum auctions. It fears that any device – whether it’s a portable video game console, a smartphone, or your garage door opener – will interfere with the digital TV airwaves and wreak havoc on the TV viewing – and ad-watching – experience. The FCC has been conducting field tests for the past year to see if Wi-Fi-equipped devices that use the white space will interfere with broadcast signals.

Google isn’t the only one fighting for unlicensed airwaves. Last year it joined the Wireless Innovation Alliance and the White Space coalition with other tech heavy hitters like Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ)  to support wireless broadband initiatives. Microsoft spokeswoman Ginny Terzano said in a statement that the company is “pleased to see many grassroots efforts take shape like this one.”

Google’s “Free the Airwaves” campaign is the company’s first attempt to reach the masses. Google’s policy team admits it’s facing an uphill battle since the majority of consumers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about wireless policy. Google has put up 14 YouTube videos from white space advocates on its site in hopes that it will encourage Internet users to e-mail their congressional representative or petition the FCC.

“Google’s done public campaigns for net neutratity and the C-block auction, but they’re taking this to a whole new level,” says Stifel Nicolaus telecom analyst Blair Levin. “From the beginning, this has been a difficult campaign because it requires a lot of technical expertise. Google’s latest move suggests that they need more than technical expertise to win this. They need political support.”

By Michal Lev-Ram

The wireless spectrum auction ended last week but Google is not done lobbying the Federal Communications Commission.

On Monday the company sent a letter to the FCC outlining what it would like to do with so-called “white space” — airwaves found between broadcast channels that will become available when television switches from analog to digital early next year. Unlike the five blocks of spectrum recently up for auction, these airwaves are unlicensed and largely unused.

Google (GOOG) is proposing that the spectrum be used for mobile broadband services, including Internet access for upcoming — you guessed it — Android-running phones, which use an operating system promoted by Google. The company says it will ensure that devices operating in the unlicensed spectrum won’t interfere with TV channels or wireless microphone signals, and that it intends to provide the “technical support necessary to make these plans happen” at no cost to phonemakers.

The company said it is confident its proposal will “eliminate any remaining legitimate concerns about the merits of using the white space for unlicensed personal/portable devices.”

Google’s not the only one pushing the FCC to allow the unused spectrum to be used for mobile broadband services. Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) have also joined the “White Space Coalition.” But the proposal has drawn plenty opposition from groups like the National Association of Broadcasters, who worry that using white space for a wireless broadband service will interfere with digital TV transmissions.

By Michal Lev-Ram

The government’s high profile spectrum auction, which has attracted the likes of Google (GOOG), Verizon Wireless (VZ) and AT&T (T), is still far from over. Although a bid on one of its most coveted bundle of licenses, the so-called C block, neared $3 billion yesterday, no new bids were placed in the ninth round of bidding, which took place Tuesday morning. The opening bid for round ten on this slice of spectrum has been set at $3.4 billion, while the minimum reserve price set by the FCC is $4.6 billion .

There are five segments of 700 MHz spectrum — now used for analog television — up for grabs but the C block, a nationwide network well suited for broadband services, has attracted the most attention. That’s partly because of an FCC mandate Google lobbied hard for that requires the network must be kept open to any mobile devices. But if the FCC’s minimum asking price for this portion of the spectrum is not met, it’s likely the agency will try to auction it off without the “open access” requirement.

Google said last year it will meet the $4.6 billion reserve price for the C block. AT&T and Verizon were also expected to bid, but as this is a “blind” auction the identity of the participants will be kept secret until the auction is over.

So far, only one bid has come in for another portion of the spectrum, the D block, to be used for a nationwide public safety network. At $472 million, it’s far below the minimum asking price of $1.6 billion. A startup called Frontline Wireless initially had its eyes set on the D block, but had to drop out of the race earlier this month, reportedly due to lack of financing.

The FCC hopes to raise at least $10 billion from the spectrum auction. Looks like that might take a while.