Entrepreneurs Call For "Open Access" To Wireless Spectrum

AdaptationNation · Jun 9, 2007

Forbes.com

Burlingame, Calif. - Think Apple's iPhone is cool? You haven't seen anything yet, tech entrepreneurs promise--that is, if the phone companies would just get out of their way. And they're asking the Feds to help them out.

This year the Federal Communications Commission will auction off another chunk of wireless spectrum; the U.S. Senate will hold hearings on the plans for the sale this week. Now a band of technology veterans and wireless entrepreneurs is asking the FCC to set aside a chunk of that spectrum as a kind of sandbox for entrepreneurs.
The folks backing the idea aren't crunchy idealists, either. One-time top executives at Virgin Mobile, Ominisky and other one-time wireless upstarts all backed the idea in an open letter to the FCC Thursday. EBay's Skype has also voiced its support for the idea.

Their gripe? The group argues that the "Big Four" wireless carriers--Verizon , AT&T , Sprint and T-Mobile--act as a bottleneck to innovation. In order to tap into their wireless networks, entrepreneurs have to sell their devices through the carriers, who slow down some of their wilder new features and shy away from ideas like wireless voice-over-Internet Protocol services that could threaten their business models.

The fix? The group is asking for what they call an "open access" block. By all means sell the spectrum and reap the profits, they argue. But force the owners of a nationwide slice of that spectrum to make their service open to anyone selling a device that meets certain specifications.

Then, just as an Internet user can hook any device they want up to their Internet connection, users will be able to use all sorts of devices on wireless networks. "On the Internet you can just put something on the Web and try it out," says Amol Sarva, chief executive of start-up Txtbl and co-founder of Virgin Mobile USA. "The world of wireless devices is nowhere close to that."

The wireless carriers, however, aren't buying it. And if you had to bet, odds are high that their connections, clout and money will win this fight. Their argument: The plan could create chaos on their networks. On top of that, they argue that carriers are already racing to pump out new features as quick as they can. "To call for 1970s-style government mandates is frankly dangerous in the wireless space," says Joseph Farren, director of public affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association.

So what gives the open-access advocates any chance? In the PC era, Silicon Valley companies had little reason to pay attention to what went on in Washington, D.C. But now that the Internet has made communications--rather than computing--the tech industry's growth engine, tech entrepreneurs are starting to tune in.

Last year's fight over the arcane concept of network neutrality--the absence of restrictions on the type of content that can move over the privately owned networks that comprise the Internet--was just a preview. After a clumsy start, net neutrality backers Google, eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo! signed on everyone from the left-leaning Common Cause to the Gun Owners of America to fight the telephone carriers to a stalemate.

It's now clear that the techies are learning, fast, how to take a fight to Washington. One of the companies pushing the idea--Frontline Wireless--already has former FCC Chairman Reed Hunt on staff, proving they know how to play this game. Now we'll see if they have the stomach to win it.
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Fisherman's Worf · Jun 9, 2007

You can't own light waves, man.

RickDeckard · Jun 9, 2007

2.4 GHz stuff is open access already, is it not? It is here.

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Entrepreneurs Call For "Open Access" To Wireless Spectrum

AdaptationNation Guest

Fisherman's Worf I am the Seaman, I am the Walrus, Qu-Qu-Qapla'!

RickDeckard Socialist

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Entrepreneurs Call For "Open Access" To Wireless Spectrum

AdaptationNation Guest

Fisherman's Worf I am the Seaman, I am the Walrus, Qu-Qu-Qapla'!

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