Much of the items we cover on this blog is drool stuff. We try t liven it up from time to time. Well the NY Post takes a stab at it too. They do a fair job too. –

IT’S a sad state of affairs when the interests of American consumers - and our digital fate - are being better represented by Google than by government. But that’s the state of the debate over what to do with the “white spaces” between TV channels.

The white spaces are the spectrum that will be freed up when TV broadcasters finish switching to wavelengths reserved for digital transmission in 2009. Google wants the spectrum liberated so any of us can freely use it, as we do now with wi-fi frequencies.

Read the whole thing. The outcome may very well determine whether this country is first rate or no rate in the broadband space globally.

Linky.

Art Earl, director of strategic development at the tech firm Hypres in Elmsford, N.Y., offered an outside-the-box idea in an FCC proceeding in which everything is on the table for discussion.

“My idea is for the government to deregulate the 700 MHz band and just give it away for a few years for small businesses to develop new revolutionary technologies and give the U.S. a technology booster shot without spending any money,” Earl said. “If you have to compromise on deregulation, then perhaps only devices blessed by the PSST and FCC could be used at this frequency range. This will help stimulate innovation in a significant and meaningful way and perhaps pave the way for the U.S. to re-emerge as a significant global power in broadband wireless. Look at how much the prior deregulation of 5 GHz and 2 GHz bands have stimulated the economy.”

Actually I could support that kind of plan. Especially if the FCC is going to continue with any sort of private-public stupidity like the last auction. Fact I would go so far as to recommend the following –

Three Bands —

• One Opened but licensed band for any sort of experimentation/development.
• A guard band.
• A closed license band for Metro - Public service use.

Doing it this way solves a lot of problems. The Commission avoids a nasty legal battle with the NAB. US industry/inventors get a band to develop new technologies with given appropriate power and spectrum usage. The Metro wireless might get a new lease on life. The convenient factor is that most of the first responder orgs are city departments for the most part anyway. Using spread spectrum technology and appropriate software it would be quite possible to leverage the use of the band for both public and private use.

More at RCR.

RCR. It appears that the FCC may auction off an AWS III frequency — 2155-2180 MHz. Its only 25mhz of bandwidth but it maybe enough to make things interesting. –

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin scheduled a vote on rules for another major spectrum auction, one that would encompass 25 megahertz in the 2155-2180 MHz advanced wireless services band and require the winning bidder to offer free broadband service under an aggressive build-out schedule.

“We’ve had a variety of proposals that had come into the commission originally where some people wanted us to give them the spectrum,” said Martin in a briefing with reporters. The FCC chief said a vote may be held at the agency’s upcoming June 12 meeting, but added it is possible the measure could be approved before that date.

Martin said that a licensee of the 2155-2180 MHz spectrum (referred to as the AWS III band) would have to provide a free service tier, and would have to reach 50% of the population in four years and 95% of the population by the end of the license term.

Martin also said the agency will initiate a separate rulemaking on what to do with other AWS frequencies.

The FCC earlier this year auctioned 62 megahertz of 700 MHz spectrum, raising almost $20 billion.

It is unclear whether the FCC would hold the AWS III auction later this year, and if that auction will affect the agency’s plans to re-auction of the 700 MHz D Block. The D Block — whose rules currently call for a public safety-private sector partnership via a national license — was not claimed in the 700 MHz auction because no bidder met the $1.3 billion reserve price.

There is both questions and opportunity here.

Questions –

• Who the h@^^ would be crazy enough to go into a commercial venture that requires a free service tier. Nobody would want anything but that.
• Considering those facts who would be crazy enough to do the build out?
• What would be the restrictions? At only 25mhz bandwidth you aren’t going to do much beyond messaging and digital transport. Video would be a bandwidth buster.

Opportunities –

• Were a consortium of ARRL, Microsoft, Intel and GE to bid or get abeyance from the FCC a great deal of good good could be made. Subchannels of bandwidth could be offered for Ham technical use, Medical systems, and data transport.
• Might make a viable baseline for the white space battle so that the whole legal issue could be avoided with the legacy network people.
• Let a nonprofit handle the appropriate licensing issues for certain subbands.

FCC you hearing us? Do it. But don’t auction it off, make it the ‘public commons’.

Linky.

If at first you don’t succeed, ask for more feedback. Or at least that is how the FCC is proceeding with the reauctioning of the ‘D’ block that did not sell the first time around. But that is not a knock, but how the FCC must proceed as a Congressional functionary in the Federal Space.

If you want to chime in here’s where you start. If you have been following our postion, you know of course that we think the auction route is not the best interests of the US populace.

Want your shot at building a nearly national wireless network to compete with the diuopoply? You could get your chance if you have the necessary cash.

NextWave Wireless announced Thursday that it has asked two investment banking firms to explore the possibility of selling its extensive spectrum holdings that cover most of the United States.”We no longer view our spectrum holdings as critical to reaching our product sales objectives and believe that now is the perfect time for us to sell these valuable assets,” said Allen Salmasi, CEO and president of NextWave, in a statement. “Since the completion of the recent 700 MHz auction, we have received multiple offers for our U.S. spectrum assets.”

Salmasi said the sale of the spectrum would enable NextWave to improve its financial situation and concentrate on developing its wireless products, including WiMax and radio frequency integrated circuit chipsets, WiMax and LTE base station platforms, and mobile TV systems that the company is working on with mobile phone service providers to bring into commercial deployment. (Information Week)

Any takers? I wonder if T-Mobile is interested. If you have the cash, but don’t want to run a network, email us! We’ll be glad to help!

Even a great idea can turn into an impractical nightmare when implement by politicians. Now crying foul about the outcome of the recent 700MHz auction that they did nothing to change when they might have, the pols have yet another ill conceived and unworkable idea to improve broadband competition. Something in the politicos gene pool seems to tell them that they can obtain a different result from the same action. Having yet another auction is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Voicing disappointment that familiar large wireless carriers scooped up the most significant share of airwaves in a recently concluded auction, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced the Wireless Internet Nationwide for Families Act, which would direct the Federal Communications Commission to auction off a band of wireless spectrum between 2,155 megahertz and 2,180MHz that currently lies fallow and impose detailed rules on the winning bidder. Rep. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who leads a House telecommunications and Internet panel, and Rep. Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican, have signed on as co-sponsors.

Under the proposed measure, aside from offering the free broadband network, the network operator would have to:
• begin offering “always-on” broadband service within two years of receiving the license
• offer a service free of subscription fees, airtime, usage or other charges to consumers and “authorized public safety users”
• ensure the service offers at least 200 kilobits per second transmission speeds in at least one direction (a far cry from the 768 megabits per second speeds associated with most entry-level DSL lines)
• outfit the free service with “a technology protection measure or measures that protect underage users from accessing obscene or indecent material through such service”
• publish royalty-free standards so that others can develop and deploy equipment that can operate on the network (Cnet)

The ludicrous details of this proposal demonstrates how clearly out of touch the current crop of representatives in DC really are. Offering another auction is not going to change anything. Expecting a serious newcomer to arrive on the scene and pay big for the right to provide free service is unworkable. It’s San Francisco muni Wifi revisited only worse. Plus, 200KBPS is not broadband and is essentially useless in the rich media world that we live in today.

I have a better proposal for this spectrum. Have a lottery. Charge a set fee for a license that is both reasonable and proper for market size. To enter the lottery you must not currently offer service in a market area you have applied to serve nor may you hold license to more than say 5% of the spectrum anywhere in the USA. You will have a deployment plan and you will have a strict time line on how quickly you will deploy. You will surrender the spectrum if you do not deploy in a set time and a new lottery will be held. You may not accept investments from the duopoly. Community groups and individuals are welcome to put their names in the hat.

The House Telecom SubComittee convened today and the considered opinon by some was that the recent auction though resourceful and not a complete winner. The lack of a sale of the ‘D’ block was on the lips of many. –

“The FCC must revisit these policy decisions in light of the recently-completed auction and take corrective action going forward,” the Massachusetts lawmaker stated. “The commission has the responsibility to learn from the licensing mistakes of the past and to widely disseminate licenses and promote greater broadband competition and should endeavor to do so.”

Markey and other lawmakers — as well as FCC Chairman Kevin Martin — said the commission should not abandon the public-private partnership approach as federal regulators consider changes to D-Block guidelines. Suggestions include lowering the $1.3 billion reserve price for the license, modifying the penalty associated with network-sharing agreement negotiations between the D-Block winner and the public-safety broadband licensee, clarifying upfront the obligations and expectations of the private sector partner and perhaps licensing the D Block on a regional basis with an interoperability requirement.

“Any and all options should be on the table,” Martin told subcommittee members.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said the D-Block license should be re-auctioned without any conditions.

“The auction raised $19 billion, and that’s great, but it should have raised a lot more,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Commerce Committee. “True, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the auction would raise $12.5 billion. But other studies estimated that, without the conditions, the spectrum would raise $25 to $30 billion. I think that the higher estimates would have been about right, based on the results where the C-Block revenue was about half of what many folks thought, and the D Block did not sell at all.”

What concerns me is the attitude. Its like to accomplish anything the OverLords of Telecom with strains of the intro to Dr. Who playing in the background has to occur. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes the rules of the ‘D’ block made things unattractive in many ways. But that is because the approach taken. That being a massive single provider approach. If this is to be a first responder network then treat it like one.

Forego auctioning it off. Have the FCC contract with a engineering firm to do the oversight and spec development. Open the specifications to the market so equipment vendors can provide for equipment and let them compete on a local basis for the business with the various local/regional entities. Open up bids for all entrants to carry the bandwidth. Set up a public corporation to oversee the final network.

This is to be for the public good is it not? Then why does it have to be auctioned off at all? The holder of record would be the public corporation so designated. Just a thought.

linky.

In a recent decision to permit the merger of AT&T and Dobson communications, the FCC raised the limit on the spectrum that a single company can hold in any location to 95Mhz. In the recent 700MHz spectrum auctions, it seems that the FCC has exceeded their own limits again. It’s important to remember that the intent of opening the spectrum was to make wireless and broadband access more competitive. The opposite is the result if the auction results allowed to stand.

Here is the breakdown of US cellular spectrum AFTER the 700 MHz auction:

AT&T or Verizon Wireless exceeds the 95 MHz Dobson threshold in 8 of the top 10 US markets, 17 of the top 25 markets, and 38 of the top 100 markets.Each of those wireless companies separately exceeds the threshold in 5 of the top 10 markets, 10 of the top 25 markets, and in one out of five of the top 100 markets.

TOP 100 MARKETS WHERE AT&T or VERIZON WIRELESS EXCEEDS THE DOBSON 95 MHZ THRESHOLD:

• New York, NY (VZ: 119 MHz)
• Chicago, IL (VZ: 101 MHz)
• Philadelphia, PA (VZ: 99 MHz)
• Boston-Lowell-Brockton-Lawrence-Haverhill, MA-NH (AT&T: 99 MHz, VZ: 97 MHz)
• San Francisco-Oakland, CA (AT&T: 97 MHz)
• Washington, DC-MD-VA (AT&T: 99 MHz, VZ: 109 MHz)
• Dallas-Forth Worth, TX (AT&T: 124 MHz)
• Houston, TX (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, FL (VZ: 96 MHz)
• Baltimore, MD (AT&T: 99 MHz, VZ: 109 MHz)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI (VZ: 99 MHz)
• Atlanta, GA (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Denver-Boulder, CO (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (VZ: 111 MHz)
• Kansas City, MO-KS (VZ: 114 MHz)
• Buffalo, NY (AT&T: 119 MHz)
• San Jose, CA (AT&T: 97 MHz)
• Hartford-New Britain-Bristol, CT (AT&T: 109 MHz)
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury, CT (VZ: 119 MHz)
• Toledo, OH-MI (VZ: 104 MHz)
• New Haven-West Haven-Waterbury-Meriden, CT (VZ: 99 MHz)
• Syracuse, NY (AT&T: 101 MHz)
• Gary-Hammond-East Chicago, IN (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Northeast Pennsylvania, PA (VZ: 104 MHz)
• Tulsa, OK (AT&T: 99 MHz)
• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ (VZ: 99 MHz)
• New Brunswick-Perth Amboy-Sayreville, NJ (VZ: 119 MHz)
• Springfield-Chicopee-Holyoke, MA (VZ: 99 MHz)
• Youngstown-Warren, OH (AT&T: 117 MHz)
• Wilmington, DE-NJ-MD (VZ: 99 MHz)
• Long Branch-Asbury Park, NJ (VZ: 119 MHz)
• Raleigh-Durham, NC (VZ: 99 MHz)
• West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL (VZ: 96 MHz)
• Fresno, CA (AT&T: 115 MHz)
• Austin, TX (AT&T: 104 MHz)
• Wichita, KS (AT&T: 97 MHz)
• Las Vegas, NV (AT&T: 99 MHz) (from Viodi)

Anyone who believes that the 700MHz auction resulted in a competitive wireless environment probably believes the tooth fairy is thier sister. This matter requires a public hearing. Unfortunately, the House and Senate have been so well bought off by AT&T or Verizon that such hearings will never see the light of day. After all the House is busy looking into improvements for the capital Visitors Center and financial education (for us, not them, even though they are the ones who need it). With 3% of the Senate AWOL campaigning for the Presidency, they will accomplish even less than usual. It’s doubtful a single Senator would understand any of this anyway.

As you may or may not know, the FCC is currently on the lookout for firms not telling customers that the device being sold to them is an analog only set an d will not work after Feb, ‘09. So the FCC snags — Sears, WalMart, Best Buy, et. al. for not doing so. Another words big fines for not sticking a .20c label on a box. Details here.

Now of all these firms, WalMart has the least excuse. They have the most modern logistics system on the planet. They can tell you what bag of rice you bought on Sept 6, 2007. So it is not a stretch that they would be capable of cranking out a list of analog sets in inventory and slapping the label on it. Shame. Personally I think some heads are going to roll over this.

Google claims to have bid aggressively in the recent 700 MHz auction and is now on record stating they will lobby to have open rules eset for the redo on the D block that did not have a successful bid.

“In ten of the bidding rounds we actually raised our own bid — even though no one was bidding against us — to ensure aggressive bidding on the C Block,” Google said. Active bidding ensured the rules designed to make these networks more open to independent Web services will be implemented, it said.

The Silicon Valley company also said it will weigh in on new rules the FCC may set as it re-auctions airwaves that are to be shared between public safety agencies and commercial service providers — the “D Block” in the auctions. (Yahoo)

The original D block rules were crafted to support the business model of a company formed by a few ex FCC cronies that in the end never manage to raise enough capital to play in the auction. There are a number of unanswered questions that should baeasked about how that progressed.

With Google back in play, we’re always hopeful that a new competitor will enter the market and build our Third Pipe. With the dominance of the telcos, ther are very few players with the capital to compete against such deep pockets. That is at least in the way the FCC currently runs auctions.