It’s official. Google will be filing an application to participate in the 700 Mhz auction come Monday, the company said in a news release. Google’s application will not include any partners.

Says Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman and CEO in a statement:

We believe it’s important to put our money where our principles are. Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today’s wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet.

Industrial experts say that Google will have to spend at least $4.6 billion for the 700 Mhz spectrum. The general consensus is that the winners in the auction will be the consumer.

The Inquirer observes:

Maybe the USA will finally see SIMM card slots in their handsets like in Asia and Europe. Possibly running Google’s Android open-source mobile operating system.

And yes, in Singapore where I live, when my wife’s mobile phone battery runs out of juice, she can just grab my phone and drop her SIM card into it and vice versa. Now, that’s something to look forward to, isn’t it?