terryjohnson16
07-10-2007, 09:17 PM
New rules could rock wireless world - USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2007-07-09-wireless-telecom_N.htm?csp=34)
By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Coming soon could be a wireless broadband world in which consumers get to pick any smartphone or other device and load any software on it — not have to take what the wireless carrier wants to sell.
That's the goal of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who will propose sweeping new rules for wireless airwaves the government is auctioning early next year. The 700 MHz spectrum, being vacated by TV stations as they go digital, is coveted for its ability to penetrate walls and other obstacles.
Under Martin's proposal, to be circulated in the agency as early as Tuesday, mobile services in these airwaves would have to allow consumer choice.
"Whoever wins this spectrum has to provide … truly open broadband network — one that will open the door to a lot of innovative services for consumers," Martin said in an interview Monday.
What this would mean in practice: "You can use any wireless device and download any mobile broadband application, with no restrictions," Martin explained. The only exceptions would be software that is illegal or could harm a network.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Apple | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman | Kevin Martin
The proposed rules would apply only to the spectrum being auctioned, not the rest of the wireless business, which still makes most of its revenue from voice calls. But Martin's proposal, if adopted by the FCC, could reverberate through a U.S. wireless industry that has tightly controlled access to devices and services. The Apple iPhone is a prime example: Like most devices sold in the USA, the iPhone is, in industry parlance, "locked." It allows only features and applications that Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) provide and works only with an AT&T contract.
The FCC chairman said he has grown increasingly concerned that the current practices "hamper innovations" dreamed up by outside developers. One example: Mobile devices that also can use Wi-Fi, such as a home network or airport "hot spot," for Internet access. "Internationally, Wi-Fi handsets have been available for some time," Martin noted. "But they are just beginning to roll out here."
Some handset makers actually strip out Wi-Fi features at the request of U.S.-based carriers loath to allow any feature that could let users sidestep their fee-based services and applications. "I am concerned that we are seeing some innovations being rolled out more slowly here than we are in other parts of the world," Martin said.
In Europe, for example, consumers for years have had access to an array of "unlocked" devices they can pack with applications from a variety of developers.
Because the devices aren't tethered to any one carrier, wireless consumers in other countries can take devices with them when they switch carriers. In the USA, with cellphones typically "locked," customers who switch have to throw their old phones away.
Martin said he has no plans, for now, to try to extend his proposal to other parts of the wireless business. But he believes it would, if adopted, pressure carriers to change. "I think it sends an important message."
By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Coming soon could be a wireless broadband world in which consumers get to pick any smartphone or other device and load any software on it — not have to take what the wireless carrier wants to sell.
That's the goal of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who will propose sweeping new rules for wireless airwaves the government is auctioning early next year. The 700 MHz spectrum, being vacated by TV stations as they go digital, is coveted for its ability to penetrate walls and other obstacles.
Under Martin's proposal, to be circulated in the agency as early as Tuesday, mobile services in these airwaves would have to allow consumer choice.
"Whoever wins this spectrum has to provide … truly open broadband network — one that will open the door to a lot of innovative services for consumers," Martin said in an interview Monday.
What this would mean in practice: "You can use any wireless device and download any mobile broadband application, with no restrictions," Martin explained. The only exceptions would be software that is illegal or could harm a network.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Apple | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman | Kevin Martin
The proposed rules would apply only to the spectrum being auctioned, not the rest of the wireless business, which still makes most of its revenue from voice calls. But Martin's proposal, if adopted by the FCC, could reverberate through a U.S. wireless industry that has tightly controlled access to devices and services. The Apple iPhone is a prime example: Like most devices sold in the USA, the iPhone is, in industry parlance, "locked." It allows only features and applications that Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) provide and works only with an AT&T contract.
The FCC chairman said he has grown increasingly concerned that the current practices "hamper innovations" dreamed up by outside developers. One example: Mobile devices that also can use Wi-Fi, such as a home network or airport "hot spot," for Internet access. "Internationally, Wi-Fi handsets have been available for some time," Martin noted. "But they are just beginning to roll out here."
Some handset makers actually strip out Wi-Fi features at the request of U.S.-based carriers loath to allow any feature that could let users sidestep their fee-based services and applications. "I am concerned that we are seeing some innovations being rolled out more slowly here than we are in other parts of the world," Martin said.
In Europe, for example, consumers for years have had access to an array of "unlocked" devices they can pack with applications from a variety of developers.
Because the devices aren't tethered to any one carrier, wireless consumers in other countries can take devices with them when they switch carriers. In the USA, with cellphones typically "locked," customers who switch have to throw their old phones away.
Martin said he has no plans, for now, to try to extend his proposal to other parts of the wireless business. But he believes it would, if adopted, pressure carriers to change. "I think it sends an important message."