Saturday, July 21, 2007
More 700 MHz Auction Action
In my previous post, I wrote:
Now the FCC has two choices. It can meet Google's conditions -- which, incidentally would go a LONG way towards preserving a genuinely open Internet -- or it could deny them or dilute them into meaninglessness, which would play into the hands of incumbent telcos, cablecos and corporatized media.
The telcos, natch, are furious. The nerve of some upstart nouveau-riche billionaire-company-come-lately, with no appreciation of the ancient traditions of blue-blooded telephony!
So, Chairman Martin, what will it be? Preserve the openness of the Internet or preserve the cozy integrity of the club?
So the new scenario is that the whole auction is priced way too high. The FCC "does its duty" by holding the auction on time, but golly, where are all the bidders?Now Google CEO Eric Schmidt has told [.pdf] FCC Chairman Martin that Google is prepared to meet or exceed the FCC's $4.6 billion minimum bid if the auction's conditions include . . .
". . . clearly delineated, explicitly enforceable, and unwavering obligations to provide (1) open applications, (2) open devices, (3) open wholesale services, and (4) open network access . . ."See Googleblog for more on this.
Now the FCC has two choices. It can meet Google's conditions -- which, incidentally would go a LONG way towards preserving a genuinely open Internet -- or it could deny them or dilute them into meaninglessness, which would play into the hands of incumbent telcos, cablecos and corporatized media.
The telcos, natch, are furious. The nerve of some upstart nouveau-riche billionaire-company-come-lately, with no appreciation of the ancient traditions of blue-blooded telephony!
So, Chairman Martin, what will it be? Preserve the openness of the Internet or preserve the cozy integrity of the club?
Technorati Tags: 700MHz, EricSchmidt, FCC, Google, KevinMartin, NetworkNeutrality, Spectrum
Comments:
Location aware computing is a huge thing and will not develop quickly or properly without open networks.
Google can taste this and my guess is they are deadly serious.
Business in general will do much better if Google's proposal is adopted. Communications is an enabler and it is wrong to look at just the fortunes of the telcos when big pieces of the economy are impacted.
Google can taste this and my guess is they are deadly serious.
Business in general will do much better if Google's proposal is adopted. Communications is an enabler and it is wrong to look at just the fortunes of the telcos when big pieces of the economy are impacted.
# posted by 
: 7/21/2007 7:51 PM
: 7/21/2007 7:51 PM
This is ether consciously or at least effectively a "Br'er Rabbit Don't Throw me in the Briar Patch" technique by the CaBellCos.
22Mhz shared across a city (yes even with frequency reuse) doesn't compare within orders of magnitude with a single fiber.
I have nothing against Google going for that 22Mhz and they are probably the only ones who could monetize it and still make it a network worth using without turning it into a closed haunted garden.
But it does not solve the problem that we don't have open access broadband in the US. It will not even begin to be enough capacity to "route around" the defects of crony capitalism (aka CaBellCos & "The Two Party System of bribery")
This really is a matter of "Life Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness" by citizens and limiting the power of corporations who can so easily warp the fabric of representative democracy.
Don't waste energy with 22Mhz. Demand full divestiture of the local/regional plant (Rights of way, trenches, conduit, utility poles, copper and fiber and the central offices)
Make the physical plant some kind of regulated monopoly with some form of direct citizen oversight and conflict resolution. Then free up the upper layers to compete with a real marketplace without a stranglehold on the last mile.
22Mhz shared across a city (yes even with frequency reuse) doesn't compare within orders of magnitude with a single fiber.
I have nothing against Google going for that 22Mhz and they are probably the only ones who could monetize it and still make it a network worth using without turning it into a closed haunted garden.
But it does not solve the problem that we don't have open access broadband in the US. It will not even begin to be enough capacity to "route around" the defects of crony capitalism (aka CaBellCos & "The Two Party System of bribery")
This really is a matter of "Life Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness" by citizens and limiting the power of corporations who can so easily warp the fabric of representative democracy.
Don't waste energy with 22Mhz. Demand full divestiture of the local/regional plant (Rights of way, trenches, conduit, utility poles, copper and fiber and the central offices)
Make the physical plant some kind of regulated monopoly with some form of direct citizen oversight and conflict resolution. Then free up the upper layers to compete with a real marketplace without a stranglehold on the last mile.
"So, Chairman Martin, what will it be? Preserve the openness of the Internet or preserve the cozy integrity of the club?"
Is there really any doubt which way he'll veer?
Google knows what he'll do too, which to me indicates the billion-dollar-promise is more showmanship than anything.
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Is there really any doubt which way he'll veer?
Google knows what he'll do too, which to me indicates the billion-dollar-promise is more showmanship than anything.
