Verizon Wireless has apparently outbid Google for a set of highly coveted frequency spectrum licenses, offering $4.7 billion, the Federal Communications Commission said.

The so-called C block of frequencies Verizon Wireless won were the main prize in the F.C.C.'s closely watched 700 MHz auction, which raised nearly $20 billion for the federal government, F.C.C. chairman Kevin Martin said at a press conference in Washington today.

Verizon Wireless—which is jointly owned by Verizon and Vodaphone—won six C-block licenses. That covers most of the country. It didn't win licenses covering Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf of Mexico.

In a statement, Verizon Wireless said it was "pleased with our auction results."

"We were successful in achieving the spectrum depth we need to continue to grow our business and data revenues, to preserve our reputation as the nation's most reliable wireless network, and to continue to lead in data services and help us satisfy the next wave of services and consumer electronics devices," the company said.

Google, which had said it would bid the reserve price of $4.6 billion for the C block, did not win any licenses, Martin said, bolstering the view that the search giant was "bidding to lose" the C block after winning F.C.C. approval of two "open access" provisions that require the winner of the C block to allow consumers on its network to mix and match handsets and applications.

F.C.C. rules had required that in order for the open-access provisions to kick in, the C block's reserve price had to have been met.

Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of consumer group Public Knowledge, praised Google for "stepping up and making certain the minimum bid in the C block was achieved, so that the open-access provisions would be required to be followed."

AT&T and Qualcomm picked up smaller regional licenses in the B and E blocks.

Meanwhile, controversy deepened over the failure of the auction's D block to meet its $1.3 billion reserve price. The D block was for frequencies that the buyer would share with public-safety agencies.

Portfolio.com reported yesterday that Martin was delaying announcing the winners of the auction in order to address the controversy over the failed sale of the D block.

Today, the F.C.C. issued an order delinking the D block from the rest of the auction, and said it "will not re-offer the D block immediately in Auction 76 but will consider its options for how to license this spectrum in the future."

Public Knowledge, which had asked the commission to delink the D block, praised the move.

"We are pleased the Commission has decided to separate the D block from the rest of the auction and will not re-auction the spectrum quickly," the group said.

"We hope the Commission will take the time to take a wide-ranging view of how the spectrum could be used, while also examining why the reserve price was not met in an otherwise successful auction," Public Knowledge added.