As expected, Verizon topped the FCC auction and Google skillfully played its card to force VZ to pay more and FCC to put in the open rules in place. In our Mobile Industry Predictions – 2008, we noted –

2. Will Google play to win in the 700MHz Spectrum Auction?

Google has played the spectrum chess game effectively. Almost 50% respondents gave it a 75% or higher chance of Google winning the bid. Though expectations are high, Google is unlikely to play to win. Services business is not their cup of tea, they could still fund the Clearwire-Sprint deal but that investment can be spent differently to get better end-results, i.e. mobile ad revenue.

We noted the same thing in the Inside Media podcast in Nov 07.