LIRNEasia » free Internet access http://lirneasia.net a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific Fri, 25 May 2012 02:42:29 +0000 en hourly 1 USA: FCC’s Free-Internet Plan Could Morph Into Free Airwaves http://lirneasia.net/2008/12/usa-fccs-free-internet-plan-could-morph-into-free-airwaves/ http://lirneasia.net/2008/12/usa-fccs-free-internet-plan-could-morph-into-free-airwaves/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:48:40 +0000 Chanuka Wattegama http://lirneasia.net/?p=3032 Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is proposing giving innovators free unlicensed access to valuable airwaves if the company that buys a license to the channels doesn’t meet tough requirements to build a nationwide Internet network.

The proposal has been added to a pending auction of the airwaves. The FCC is scheduled to vote on rules for the sale on Dec. 18. Mr. Martin wants the company that buys the airwaves to devote at least 25% of the spectrum to free Internet access for 95% of the country. The no-cost Internet service also would be smut-free for users under 18. Adult users could opt out of the filter blocking pornographic content.

Mr. Martin said Wednesday that he has circulated two versions of the auction item — one with the unlicensed provision and one without — for the other commissioners on the five-member body to review before the meeting. The FCC will vote on only one version, depending on which version the other commissioners prefer, Mr. Martin said.

Mr. Martin wants to sell a nationwide license to the airwaves rather than give the channels to entrepreneurs because he wants to promote free Internet access. By adding a clause that would give away airwaves where there isn’t an Internet network after five years, Mr. Martin hopes that the owner of the channels would have an added incentive to build a network.

Mr. Martin said Wednesday that both versions of the auction item include a “use it or lose it” provision in which the owner of the channels would lose spectrum where there is no Internet access. The owner of the channels would “continue to serve whatever area they’ve built out,” he said.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal here.

]]> http://lirneasia.net/2008/12/usa-fccs-free-internet-plan-could-morph-into-free-airwaves/feed/ 0 WiFi in the Valley http://lirneasia.net/2006/09/wifi-in-the-valley/ http://lirneasia.net/2006/09/wifi-in-the-valley/#comments Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:02:42 +0000 Rohan Samarajiva http://www.lirneasia.net/2006/09/wifi-in-the-valley/ A consortium of technology companies, including I.B.M. and Cisco Systems, announced plans Tuesday for a vast wireless network that would provide free Internet access to big portions of Silicon Valley and the surrounding region as early as next year.

The project is the largest of a new breed of wireless networks being built across the country. They are taking advantage of the falling cost of providing high-speed Internet access over radio waves as opposed to cable or telephone lines.

The project will cover 1,500 square miles in 38 cities in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Santa Cruz Counties, an area of 2.4 million residents. Its builders, going by the name Silicon Valley Metro Connect, said the service would provide free basic wireless access at speeds up to 1 megabit a second — which is roughly comparable to broadband speeds by telephone — in outdoor areas. Special equipment, costing $80 to $120, will be needed to bolster the signal enough to bring it inside homes or offices.

Full story.

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