Top of the cool club

266 entities officially registered as bidders for newly available portions of the broadcast spectrum. Naturally, Google was among them, reports The Associated Press.

Google registered its intent to bid under the name Google Airwaves.

While 266 filed as bidders, only 96 applications were deemed complete and actually accepted. The rest must be resubmitted.

Those forced to resubmit include Verizon Wireless — which committed to open its network by 2009 — and AT&T, which made a similar announcement recently.

The portions of the spectrum, previously used for television broadcasts, are sought after because of their ability to go through walls and travel long distances.

FCC rules for the auction require that one-third of the purchased spectrum be used for "open access" — that is, available for use by customers using any device.