Google will formally announce tomorrow its intention to bid on the FCC’s wireless spectrum auction coming up in January. While no real surprise, there had been some speculation that perhaps the announcement of Android (the Open Handset Alliance) meant Google was wavering about taking on the entire wireless industry – speculation fueled further when Google CEO Eric Schmidt would only say a few weeks ago that the company “will probably” launch a bid for the spectrum. At the time I thought this to be a fake-out move attempt by Google (kind of like NFL coaches before games suggesting their star players ‘may not’ play) – and there very well could have been the case.

While their intentions are not yet fully known for the spectrum, anytime you’re going to throw down a few billion dollars down on something, you can bet there is a plan in place. CNET has a very interesting run down of what Google’s could strategy could be – the spectrum is only step 2, but CNET calls it the “most important element of the entire plan”.

There had also been the rumors of Google possibly looking to buy a 2nd-tier carrier like Sprint – whether that was meant as a back-up plan or to somehow play in to their plans for the spectrum remains unknown. Duncan Riley lays out one possible scenario on TechCrunch:

unless of course Google is already talking about partnerships where by one (or both) of their partners provides the towers and service provision whilst Google maintains spectrum ownership, whilst presumably dictating access terms that would favor open access and/ or Android itself.

This also makes Verizon’s open access announcement a bit more interesting. Verizon of course was suing to stop the auction, then backed-off amid word they were in talks with Google about something, then nothing came of it and Verizon announced the open access plan mere days before Google’s announcement tomorrow. Can you say ’scramble mode’?

They’re not alone though, you can be certain that everyone – even Google’s partners – are a bit paranoid of the Android.

[UPDATE]: Both paidContent.org and Mashable speak to a theory that perhaps Google is planning to bid low in the auction – in effect throwing it. The idea is that they may just be using their presence in it to pressure the FCC and the other companies to open up a bit more – which of course Verizon has now done.

While we won’t be able to know this until we actually see the bid itself, it is certainly an interesting theory. These kind of political plays not only make the landscape a lot more interesting, but are much more interesting to write about.