The Wall St. Journal reports this week that the Bush administration is actively opposing what sounds like a very reasonable FCC plan to auction off spectrum bandwidth to a private company who would be required to provide free nationwide, moderate-speed, ad-supported wireless internet. With the other portion of the auctioned bandwidth, the company could provide a higher-quality subscription service. The reasons are predictable.
“The administration believes that the (airwaves) should be auctioned without price or product mandate,” [Commerce Sec'y] Gutierrez wrote.
Given the dismal state of high-speed internet competition in this country—many major metropolitan areas only have two carriers—it’s difficult to see how free market principles are threatened by an auction of a publicly-held good to provide not one but two more price points for a lethargic market. If we’re going to oppose a consensus deal that can simultaneously stimulate the market and provide a public service, let’s at least pretend we’re operating on principle.
Both the penetration and the quality of high-bandwidth connectivity in this country is a disgrace. National wireless internet isn’t a solution, but it’s a start. To refuse to rectify this represents a truly stunning lack of vision.
—a.j. mount
Filed under: Domestic, Science , FCC, internet, markets, NGL, NWI
