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Wireless Spectrum May Hold Key To Net Neutrality

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 4, 2007 

As part of the nationwide conversion from analog to digital television signals scheduled to take place in 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to auction off large swaths of the newly-available signal spectrum.

The spectrum, near the 700mhz range, has been used to broadcast traditional UHF television programming to millions of families, and could conceivably be used as the backbone of a new wireless broadband Internet service. The question then becomes -- who should control it, and how should it be used?

Roughly 24 mhz of the spectrum is already earmarked for reclamation by the federal government, which plans to use it for public safety and emergency communication. The remaining spectrum is up for grabs, and the potential revenue from the auction could run as high as $30 billion.

The FCC is currently taking comments from the public regarding the rules by which the spectrum can be auctioned and used, with the deadline for comments closing tomorrow, June 4.

Consumer groups and technology advocates are pushing to open up the spectrum auction and create avenues for new wireless broadband networks. The potental reach of the spectrum could far exceed current municipal Wi-Fi networks, creating a new "third way" for Internet access, particularly in rural and smaller communities.

Columbia University professor and net neutrality advocate Timothy Wu wrote in Forbes magazine that the spectrum auction winner abide by legal precedent and permit users to attach devices to any system that utilizes the new spectrum, much as the wired phone network was mandated to support devices such as answering machines, faxes, and eventually computer connections.

"Attachment rights can break open markets that might otherwise be controlled by dominant gatekeepers," Wu wrote. "Longshot companies like Ebay or YouTube might never have been born had they first needed the approval of a risk-averse company like AT&T."

AT&T and its fellow gatekeeper Verizon are ramping up to bid on the available spectrum as well, and supporters of net neutrality fear that the major telecoms will use their financial muscle to outbid any competition for the wireless real estate. Free Press campaign director Timothy Karr warned that the Baby Bells would "horde this valuable public asset and stifle competitive and cheaper alternatives to their established networks."

"[T]he United States has fallen to 16th in the world in high-speed Internet rankings, with few choices and some of the highest prices for the slowest speeds in the world. We will continue this decline as long as we let AT&T, Verizon and Comcast dictate the terms of Internet access for the majority of Americans," Karr wrote in a solicitation to members of the "Save The Internet" coalition.

As of June 1st, the coalition had gathered over 230,000 signatures to send to the FCC in support of using the spectrum for public wireless broadband.

Silicon Valley startup company Frontline Wireless has already put in a bid to be the company that builds the broadband network for the wireless spectrum. The company is backed by former Google investors, and the search engine heavyweight itself recently petitioned the FCC to enable an open auction of the spectrum.

Even presidential candidates are taking notice of the issue.

Democratic contender John Edwards recently wrote an open letter to the FCC urging it to set the auction rules equitably in order to "unleash the potential of smaller new entrants," ensuring that rural communities could make use of the potential wireless alternative to cable and DSL.

"The upcoming 700 megahertz spectrum auction presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the next generation of American technology," Edwards wrote. "I urge you to seize this chance to transform the Internet and the future."

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