In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Google has said it would "commit a minimum of $4.6 billion" on spectrum the agency plans to auction next month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

While Google joins a list of bidders that includes telecom giants such as Verizon and AT&T, the search giant has said that it will only participate if the FCC guarantees that it will require the winning bidder to operate the spectrum on a wholesale basis.

Google has said that without an open access provision the emerging broadband market, which is dominated by large telephone and cable companies, will be closed to new competitors.

In a blog post, Chris Sacca, head of special initiatives at Google, said open access would benefit consumers above all else.

So far, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has balked at Google's proposal, saying that such a rule could keep other bidders from participating.

Opponents of Google's plan argue that the company is simply trying to keep the price down and block out firms that want to use the spectrum to build a traditional wireless network.