FCC Considers Free Internet Plan

Advertisement (Why?)

The Federal Communications Commission may require the winner of airwaves being auctioned off by the government to provide free wireless high-speed Internet service across a large swath of the country. "We're hoping there will be increased interest (in the proposal) and because this will provide wireless broadband services to more Americans it is certainly something we want to see," said FCC spokesman Rob Kenny. Kenny stated he didn't know when the auction would be held and details must still be worked out. However, he said the resulting network must reach 50 percent of the population four years after the winner gets a license and then 95 percent after 10 years.

Under the plan, the winning bidder would provide free high-speed service on a small portion of the spectrum that potentially could be available on millions of Americans' phones and laptops. Jessica Zufolo, a telecom analyst with Medley Global Advisors, said the plan is "risky." "While it (the public interest component) is hugely laudable and really fulfills a lot of public policy objectives of both Congress and the FCC, from a business standpoint it's very difficult to justify."

View: Full Story at SiliconValley.com

(5 replies) #1 Michael1406 on 30 May 2008 - 21:01

The only reason I could ever see any government doing this is to keep tabs on people. It's not good business otherwise, and these days countries are glorified businesses.

#1.1 Foub on 30 May 2008 - 21:29

Its tinfoil hat time....

Its not the government that will be running it. BTW, Americans are suffering a great deal now because far too many mistakenly believe that business and profit are more important than people.

BTW, the NSA already monitors ALL communications coming in and out of the USA....

Last edited by Foub on 30 May 2008 - 22:44

#1.2 +shinji257 on 30 May 2008 - 23:58

(Foub said @ #1.1)

Right. The one that "doesn't exist" as some like to say. Anyways I am open to free internet and wireless at that. I'll probably be in that last 5% that doesn't get it though. That is how my luck usually runs.

#1.3 RAID 0 on 31 May 2008 - 23:10

(Michael1406 said @ #1)

I agree 100%.

#1.4 Airlink on 01 Jun 2008 - 05:13

(shinji257 said @ #1.2)

You knwo what NSA stands for, right? "No Such Agency"

#1.5 shakey_snake on 02 Jun 2008 - 03:32

What? You don't think the Gov't isn't already "keeping tabs" on your internet habits?

#2 chooser on 31 May 2008 - 03:46

who cares if you're being monitored? as long as they only use it for national security and not for criminal arrests (I.E. Piracy)

(1 reply) #3 -Hiroshi- on 31 May 2008 - 05:30

Holy crap, nice. Oh, and btw, you could always apply the real life behavior to your internet use. Don't do something illegal, you won't get busted for doing something illegal. Do something illegal, and go to jail for it.

#3.1 RAID 0 on 31 May 2008 - 23:13

Innocent until proven guilty. I do not support the use of warrant-less wire taps.

#4 metro on 31 May 2008 - 07:32

I think the argument that from a business standpoint it would be a good investment for any company that already provides a high speed internet solution to a lot of different areas. This also depends on the stipulations of the agreement. It never said the winner of the auction had to provide a minimum speed. It just listed the population coverage. A company could potentially throttle the speed of the wireless, and if you happen to live in one of their serviceable areas then you could subscribe to a lot higher speed. Let's say, go from the speed of slow dialup to at least 5-10mbps with the company's minimum level of service.

There's a good business model in that as long as the company has enough nationwide coverage to calculate possible revenue against expenses and see where it leaves them, such as positive or negative on funds. It's a start, but I don't get paid the big bucks to come up with revenue generating ideas for large multi-communication corporations, lol.

Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.

Neowin.net