Google Happy Loser in Wireless Spectrum Licenses

Nobody is a happier loser than Google when it lost the auction to win the highly coveted premium wireless spectrum to Verizon.

The premium wireless spectrum (C block) would have cost Google $4.7 billion, inadvertently thrusting the company into the wireless business and could have sent Google’s shares even lower.

Google promised to bid at least $4.6 billion if FCC imposed some openness condition to it. FCC complied so Google was forced to fulfil its promise. Google top management spent several anxious days until Verizon bid marginally higher at $4.74 billion and won the auction.

Google primary goal was to trigger the openness conditions.
Source: New York Times

In retrospect it was a strategically brilliant move, especially as it lost the war it never intended to win in the first place.