Verizon Wireless has asked the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn the open-access rules the FCC has imposed on the upcoming spectrum auction, claiming the move “violates the U.S. Constitution, violates the Administrative Procedures Act … and is arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by the substantial evidence and otherwise contrary to law” notes RCR News. The auction is seen as the last chance for a national wireless operator to get going. Of course, this affects Google and others who are interested in bidding for the spectrum.

WSJ: Legal challenges to FCC rules, like the kind Verizon is filing, are rarely successful, the story says, according to Philip Verveer, a communications lawyer..courts typically presume that the FCC’s rules are correct, he said. But it could give Verizon a leverage point in its private discussions with Google, which has been shopping plans to offer Google-powered phones to various operators, including Verizon.

Google’s response: “It’s regrettable that Verizon has decided to use the court system to try to prevent consumers from having any choice of innovative services,” Chris Sacca, Google’s head of special initiatives, wrote in the company’s blog Thursday. “Once again, it is American consumers who lose from these tactics.”