Big Four standing in the way of wireless progress

On the heels of it’s 2006 success in auctioning off airwaves, the FCC plans to do it again. However, unlike last time, there is a strong movement behind keeping it out of the hands of the Big Four.

According to entrepreneurs, the reasoning is simple: new telecommunications innovations must be filtered through the Big Four, who purposely hold back technologies in the interest of profit. By giving airwaves, and thus power, to entrepreneurs, new technologies can be revealed as they are developed.

Now, this isn’t as if entrepreneurs are asking for the whole to-be-auctioned spectrum. Rather, they’re looking for a piece of that spectrum to be deemed “open access.” That is, any device can be used on it. This is in stark contrast to most providers, who only allow phones purchased through them to be activated with their service.

Predictably, major wireless carriers are against this, saying that it will create chaos. They also refute the notion that they are holding back technology, which to us seems rather silly. They say that to hold back technology would put them at a competitive disadvantage; we say that collusion is possible.

In any case, it seems that the “open access” advocates have a friend: Google plan to jump into the fray. It’s a safe bet that they’ll be privy to the open access idea. And, of course, the major wireless providers are lobbying for disqualifying Google from the auction.

[Forbes]

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