Just a few months ago, the upcoming FCC radio wave auctions were generating a slew of interest from non-traditional telecom players like Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). With the 700MHz (megahertz) being opened up once analog TV waves go away in 2009, this is quite simply one of the last large pieces of radio bandwidth that companies will be able to buy into and use for all kinds of wireless services. But wait -- is interest petering out already just before the auctions begin later this month?

When Frontline Wireless dropped out of the bidding just recently, the possibility of a new national wireless carrier went down the tubes. Did incumbent telecoms like AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) lose all interest in bidding themselves? That's the thinking in the market right now, but how far that thinking goes compared to who will actually bid (and how high) remains to be seen until the auction begins.

All hope is not lost for the FCC, though. The discounted portion of the airwave auction that Frontline Wireless was seeking contained stipulations to share airwave space with public safety and related utilities. With no other national airwave bidder in line for that kind of radio spectrum, the FCC may be forced to re-auction it at a later data minus some of the stipulations that contributed to it being discounted in the first place. If the normal 700MHz radio spectrum is already taken, that could be a dead end for the FCC. Or, it could sell that specific radio spectrum for a much lower price that it had originally envisioned.

Cox Communications Inc., the largest private cable television provider in the U.S., said Monday that it plans on participating in the FCC's radio spectrum auctions in January.

So far, it looks like Cox may be the only major cable operator to participate in the auction, which will attract bidders for the 700-MHz radio spectrum that will soon be opened up when analog television signals cease in early 2009.

What will Cox plan on if it does win some radio bandwidth next month? Wireless service? Nah, the market is exceedingly crowded already, and it may get worse if Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) enters the picture. Fixed-wireless internet service? Cox already operates one of the largest high-speed internet consumer and business networks in the country, so that is an odd choice for increasing that market share.

With Cox competitors Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) electing to sit this auction out completely, it's unclear what Cox's strategy is -- and perhaps the company wants it that way. Cox's push towards mobility is under the radar at the moment, as the company looks like it is stockpiling wireless bandwidth for some future purpose -- but it's just saying "convergence purposes." Mightly slick there, Cox.