RCR Wireless News | State's Role in Consumer Protection Bill Pondered
. . . "Allowing consumers to purchase unsubsidized handsets without a long-term wireless service plan, and at a fee no higher than subsidized wireless plans, would begin to knock down those obstacles and promote increased consumer freedom in the wireless market," said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation. . .
Although much public attention has focused on the US digital TV transition -- and the resulting reallocation of analog TV channels by auction to wireless carriers -- the US Federal Communications Commission will decide how to reallocate an even larger swath of prime TV band spectrum this year: the unused “white space” between occupied DTV channels. This reallocation of unused spectrum from broadcasting to broadband permits unlicensed access for both fixed and mobile applications.
The New America Foundation, Prometheus Radio Project, Benton Foundation, Common Cause, Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Governmental Studies, and Free Press, (“NAF et al.”), respectfully submit this reply to oppositions filed on February 11, 2008 by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), iBiquity Digital Corporation (iBiquity), and National Public Radio (NPR).
Open Access Advocates See Positives, Negatives in FCC's 700 MHz Band Auction (Telecommunications Reports)
Michael Calabrese, vice president of the New America Foundation and director of its Wireless Future Program, concluded that the sale has produced “mixed results with respect to the public interest.” He noted the open access provisions on the 22-MHz C block have been triggered, but said the winner of the spectrum will “most likely” be Verizon Wireless. And he noted the D block reserve price… more
$4.7 billion in the 17th round of the 700MHz auctions (InfoWorld)
The FCC may have to re-auction the spectrum without the reserve price and perhaps without public safety obligations, said
Michael Calabrese, director of the Spectrum Policy Program at think tank the New America Foundation.
...The speed of innovation depends on whether a newcomer like Google or Qualcomm, both of which are registered bidders, has the money and the will to acquire enough licenses to break into the wireless game and force the telecom companies to break old habits. Sure Google has the cash, but do they really want to get in the labor-intensive business of broadband networks? Already, startup Frontline Wireless, a venture supported by a group… more
Wireless carriers in the United States
operate as regulated common carriers when providing basic telecommunications
services, such as voice telephone service, text messaging and speed dialing to
services and content. Remarkably,
stakeholders debate whether this clear cut regulatory status requires wireless
carriers to provide service to any compatible handset, subject to a
certification process to ensure that such use will not harm carrier
networks.
...Arguments that smart radios cannot use white space without causing TV interference are off the mark, said Michael Calabrese, vice president of the New America Foundation. The U.S. military uses this technology, he said.
One segment of radio spectrum controlled by the Department of Defense for radar transmissions is open to sharing with unlicensed devices in much the same way proposed for TV white space, Calabrese said. This month, the UK approved a digital TV white-space sharing plan similar to… more
Joshua Breitbart authored this report. Naveen Lakshmipathy compiled the appendixes, while Sascha Meinrath served as editor.
The Philadelphia story told here is an analysis of one city's efforts to build a municipal wireless network. This report examines how Philadelphia's municipal wireless initiative helped shape the national debate regarding the need for public broadband infrastructure and the impact the project's successes and failures had on the local community. The Philadelphia story holds numerous lessons for decision-makers and regulators and… more
"Smart" wireless devices can use the unassigned frequencies between broadcast TV channels to offer wireless broadband and other innovative services. A rulemaking is pending at the FCC (docket 04-186) to permit unlicensed access to this currently wasted spectrum, subject to technical requirements that will protect television reception from interference. Access to the vacant TV channels in each market has been the subject of intense lobbying, yet far too many of the arguments against "white space" devices rely upon misinformation about… more
