It’s very, very late, but it really did escape my attention that Google finally announced that it is bidding for the precious 700MHz spectrum that the FCC will be auctioning out on January 24 next year. In the official Google blog, Chris Sacca, Google’s head of special initiatives, it is Google’s way of putting “our money where our principles are.”

Why is Google bothering to make the effort to bid for the 700MHz spectrum? For the meantime, let’s forget that whoever wins the auction can get a lot of benefits from it in terms of business. Google claims that the realm of the wireless services is a closed realm, with only a few big names dominating it. Google wants to see this realm to be as open as the Internet is today.

It is all noble and good, and I certainly hope that Google is going to stay true to what it said. It is getting exceedingly rare nowadays to see companies putting the welfare of consumers first (supposedly). FCC certainly tried to pave the way when it ruled that whoever wins the 700MHz spectrum will allow consumers to use whatever mobile device that they want and to use whatever application that they want on their mobile device using their network.

But that doesn’t stop the speculation that Google may just be paying lip service and is just bluffing; according to rumors, Google will only shell out the minimum $4.6B required just to get FCC to continue enforcing their controversial ruling. Goodness knows it would sound so bad if Google is just bluffing.

So I fervently hope that the rumors are wrong, that Google is not bluffing and that it is really testing a wireless network at Mountain View. Because some of us still want to believe that there are still companies out there who do care.