Spectrum of Greed

You find out how tough your adversaries are when they are backed into a corner.  Such is the place that the NAB finds itself these days, as the FCC works to strip valuable spectrum from the punch drunk broadcast companies and award it to the up and coming challengers in the broadband space.  Gordon Smith started his early rounds with the FCC hearings asking for an objective review of all spectrum, including federal government bands, asking that utilization be carefully reviewed as well.  That was December.  (continue reading…)

According to initial hearings with Congress over the FCC’s sweeping new broadband plan, there is an immediate determination to take back at least 120Mhz of spectrum from television broadcasters and allocate it to mobile phone providers.  Apparently up to 500Mhz may be targeted within the next 10 years.  I don’t think that is going far enough.  Obviously the broadcasters are not taking this well.  Mobile data providers are pretty juiced though! (continue reading…)

The real question is, “Why not in the US?”  Some might blame the lack of US sales on the crappy network service that has plagued the iPhone lately, or suggest that at it’s very high price the market for people that want to shell out that kind of dough for a phone is saturated, but the reason isn’t so simple.  (continue reading…)

If you are a wireless executive, this guy is VERY scary!

It is that time of year when everyone starts to think about spooky things, so who can blame Charles Golvin for making the comment that headlines this article?  Golvin is principal analyst with Forrester Research, and he made that remark regarding the reaction of wireless companies to the FCC’s current plan to extend Net Neutrality rules to include wireless providers.  The gentleman to our left here is not the star of the new “Saw” movie, or Halloween 57, or Friday the Thirteenth, part 34 - he is Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.  And he is the really, really spooky dude who is causing the big bad wireless providers to seriously reconsider how safe it is to go out and loot the general public with their standard trick or treat activities.  The New York Times talked about it a month ago, and just today the FCC approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Net Neutrality.  This is to those who are advocates for Net Neutrality a day to celebrate, not a day to fear!  Check out the joyous coverage at Savetheinternet.

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