If Verizon Wireless is truly the winner of the FCC’s 700 MHz spectrum auction, as many industry experts now believe, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier must live up to its promises.

Promise: On Dec. 4, Verizon said it would support the Google-led Open Handset Alliance. By doing so, Verizon, a notoriously protective carrier known for its iron-fisted rule over the devices and software applications running on its network, said it would support the open network initiative.

Promise: At the same time, Verizon said it would support the Google-powered open-source mobile operating system Android. By doing so, Verizon said it was willing to allow phones from any manufacturer — even those using the Android platform — to run on its network as long as they meet Verizon quality specifications.

Promise (and one it can’t worm out of): If Verizon does win the C block in the 700 MHz spectrum auction, it must — as a stipulation set forth in pre-auction rules — open the new network to any phone running any software.

Forbes speculates that “analysts believe Verizon — thought to be the only bidder besides Google that is both rich and motivated enough — is poised to win the coveted C block of spectrum that Google has been eyeing.”

For those of you playing along at home, the Federal Communication Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum bidding reached an important milestone today: The FCC received a bid of $4.71 billion, surpassing the $4.68 billion minimum and setting in motion events that could have profound changes on the U.S. wireless industry.

With the minimum now achieved, the winner must abide by the “open access” rules the FCC agreed to last summer, meaning that the winner will have to allow consumers to use any handset or software application on the spectrum purchased.

Funny, but no one is celebrating in the streets outside.

Anyway, who made the $4.71 billion bid remains a mystery. There’s plenty of speculation all over the Web (here, here, here), but Saul Hansell of The New York Times seems to have the best grasp of what’s going on. Suffice to say, early analysis has Verizon, the No. 2 U.S. carrier, and newcomer Google punching it out for the coveted C Block, with No.1 carrier AT&T in the mix somewhere.

Without full media access, the 700 MHz spectrum auction is a game of pure speculation because the participants — and for our purpose that’s Google, Verizon, and AT&T — cannot talk about their bids until the auction is over, whenever that will be.

Suffice to say, by reaching the open access milestone, a new market has just been launched. For those scoring at home, put a “W” next to consumers, handset manufacturers, and third-party software developers and a ? next to Google, Verizon, and AT&T.

Looks like the rumors and back-room talk about Motorola are true: The company is looking to spin off (or “strategically realign”) its Mobile Devices business, or sell it outright.

Which begs the question: How the heck did Motorola — the company that delivered the first commercial portable cellular phone in 1983 — get to this point? Or, more recently, how did the company that made cell phones fashionable and highly desirable with the Razr and Krzr fall so low as to even think about selling off its Mobile Devices division?

As a friend who works at Motorola told me today, “Can you imagine Motorola not playing in that space anymore? That’s f***** up.”