FCC Approves Open Airwave for Bidding
August 1, 2007 by Jayvee Fernandez
Filed under Mobile 2.0, Mobile Monitor, Services
This is big news. Last week on TWiT, John C. Dvorak and the rest of the panel talked about how an open airwave that used to be owned by the big broadcasters is now going to auctioned off for a $15 Billion “public wireless channel.”
The vote was a partial victory for consumer advocacy groups and Internet companies such as Google, which wanted rules that would allow consumers to use a variety of devices on a network. But those groups also sought more-ambitious rules that would open the network to third-party companies. That measure did not pass. Creating an open network would mean companies like Google would not have to arrange with wireless carriers to make services like Web search and online video available, as they do now.
Google is sure to be one of the companies participating on the bid, as they are slowly transforming themselves into a telecommunications hub.
The news is significant because it allows consumers to buy the phones that they want, not having to depend on the network exclusivities (TAKE THAT, iPhone!!!). Though the news is exciting, the actual benefits may only be felt come 2010:
“Consumers will still face restrictive use of their phones and BlackBerries for years to come and will only get the benefit of a more open attitude to devices if there is thorough regulatory oversight five years down the road,” said Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal affairs for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
The news is indeed exciting, as the FCC had decided to open the bidding. Evil thought: I guess the US treasury is in need of $15 billion to make up for certain expenditures in some country we are all familiar with.
