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Showing Original Post only (View all)FCC Proposes Groundbreaking Free Public Wi-Fi Throughout United States; Mobile Companies Protest [View all]
Last edited Mon Feb 4, 2013, 06:58 PM - Edit history (1)
FCC Proposes Groundbreaking Free Public Wi-Fi Throughout United States; Mobile Companies Protest
by james321
Imagine telling AT&T you're done with dropped calls, or telling T-Mobile you're done with slow data. Yes, elections matter, and the FCC is proposing something spectacular for Americans...assuming that shitting-their-pants mobile phone operators don't kill the mammoth proposal:
Think about it -- how often do you actually use your smartphone to make phone calls or texts now anyway? For many folks, particularly the younger set, smartphones are about data, data, and data. They use Skype to make calls, Whatsapp to send texts, and Facebook to stay in touch -- all on data. This is why the likes of AT&T now force Americans to purchase unlimited texts and phone minutes -- or otherwise face outrageous per-text or per-minute fees -- because the wireless companies realize that Americans are really carrying around small computers in this day and age -- the 'phone' is only an inconsequential 'app' at the bottom of your screen.
This is a Big Ducking Deal, folks:
Unsurprisingly, this is a policy move that would benefit both the wealthiest Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs and the poorest individuals in America's cities and rural areas:
This is a policy that could transform American competitiveness and create thousands of new jobs, as well as diminishing the burden of outrageous wireless phone bills on poor Americans. Waiting for the GOP to cry 'socialism' in 3,2,1...
11:07 AM PT: Email the Commissioners to Express Support for the Proposal:
Chairman Julius Genachowski: Julius.Genachowski@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov
Commissioner Ajit Pai: Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/04/1184523/-FCC-Proposes-Groundbreaking-Free-Public-Wi-Fi-Throughout-United-States-Mobile-Companies-Protest
by james321
Imagine telling AT&T you're done with dropped calls, or telling T-Mobile you're done with slow data. Yes, elections matter, and the FCC is proposing something spectacular for Americans...assuming that shitting-their-pants mobile phone operators don't kill the mammoth proposal:
The federal government wants to create super WiFi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month.
The proposal from the Federal Communications Commission has rattled the $178 billion wireless industry, which has launched a fierce lobbying effort to persuade policymakers to reconsider the idea, analysts say. That has been countered by an equally intense campaign from Google, Microsoft and other tech giants who say a free-for-all WiFi service would spark an explosion of innovations and devices that would benefit most Americans, especially the poor.
The airwaves that FCC officials want to hand over to the public would be much more powerful than existing WiFi networks that have become common in households. They could penetrate thick concrete walls and travel over hills and around trees. If all goes as planned, free access to the Web would be available in just about every metropolitan area and in many rural areas.
Think about it -- how often do you actually use your smartphone to make phone calls or texts now anyway? For many folks, particularly the younger set, smartphones are about data, data, and data. They use Skype to make calls, Whatsapp to send texts, and Facebook to stay in touch -- all on data. This is why the likes of AT&T now force Americans to purchase unlimited texts and phone minutes -- or otherwise face outrageous per-text or per-minute fees -- because the wireless companies realize that Americans are really carrying around small computers in this day and age -- the 'phone' is only an inconsequential 'app' at the bottom of your screen.
This is a Big Ducking Deal, folks:
The new WiFi networks would also have much farther reach, allowing for a driverless car to communicate with another vehicle a mile away or a patients heart monitor to connect to a hospital on the other side of town.
If approved by the FCC, the free networks would still take several years to set up. And, with no one actively managing them, connections could easily become jammed in major cities. But public WiFi could allow many consumers to make free calls from their mobile phones via the Internet. The frugal-minded could even use the service in their homes, allowing them to cut off expensive Internet bills.
For a casual user of the Web, perhaps this could replace carrier service, said Jeffrey Silva, an analyst at the Medley Global Advisors research firm. Because it is more plentiful and there is no price tag, it could have a real appeal to some people.
Unsurprisingly, this is a policy move that would benefit both the wealthiest Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs and the poorest individuals in America's cities and rural areas:
Designed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the plan would be a global first. When the U.S. government made a limited amount of unlicensed airwaves available in 1985, an unexpected explosion in innovation followed. Baby monitors, garage door openers and wireless stage microphones were created. Millions of homes now run their own wireless networks, connecting tablets, game consoles, kitchen appliances and security systems to the Internet.
Freeing up unlicensed spectrum is a vibrantly free-market approach that offers low barriers to entry to innovators developing the technologies of the future and benefits consumers, Genachowski said in a an e-mailed statement.
Some companies and cities are already moving in this direction. Google is providing free WiFi to the public in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan and parts of Silicon Valley.
Cities support the idea because the networks would lower costs for schools and businesses or help vacationers easily find tourist spots. Consumer advocates note the benefits to the poor, who often cannot afford high cellphone and Internet bills.
This is a policy that could transform American competitiveness and create thousands of new jobs, as well as diminishing the burden of outrageous wireless phone bills on poor Americans. Waiting for the GOP to cry 'socialism' in 3,2,1...
11:07 AM PT: Email the Commissioners to Express Support for the Proposal:
Chairman Julius Genachowski: Julius.Genachowski@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov
Commissioner Ajit Pai: Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/04/1184523/-FCC-Proposes-Groundbreaking-Free-Public-Wi-Fi-Throughout-United-States-Mobile-Companies-Protest
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FCC Proposes Groundbreaking Free Public Wi-Fi Throughout United States; Mobile Companies Protest [View all]
ProSense
Feb 2013
OP
Proud to be 1st Rec! "..the 'phone' is only an inconsequential 'app' at the bottom of your screen."
Scuba
Feb 2013
#1
Disagree. The telecoms will fight it, but every single other business sees this as a cost ...
Scuba
Feb 2013
#5
Businesses spend huge sums on telecom, as they rely more and more on mobile workers ...
Scuba
Feb 2013
#92
They'll have a compromise that the speed will be slower than what you can buy.
Spitfire of ATJ
Feb 2013
#23
There are a few cities already moving toards this on their own with google's help.
Exultant Democracy
Feb 2013
#28
+1000 I'm so, so tired of all the defeatist, we'll never do this, we'll never do that talk here!
LongTomH
Feb 2013
#87
+1000 I'm so, so tired of all the defeatist, we'll never do this, we'll never do that talk here!
stonecutter357
Feb 2013
#116
Actually, they could do it for less because the CEO wouldn't be getting that huge bonus.
aquart
Feb 2013
#29
There are much cheaper plans. You may have a lot of extras if you're spending that much..
robinlynne
Feb 2013
#89
I spend 50.00 all together for internet and phone. I dont have the fastest internet speed.
robinlynne
Feb 2013
#128
Our Internet speeds and availability are a joke compared to the rest of the world...
EastKYLiberal
Feb 2013
#19
We should replace the 2nd amendment with the right to access the internet.
Exultant Democracy
Feb 2013
#30
Remember when the government used to do major projects for the benefit of the people
thelordofhell
Feb 2013
#34
I bet telecomm companies start backing Republican candidates(if they aren't already)
octoberlib
Feb 2013
#57
It All Sounds Good .. We're all paying too much for phone and internet .. It will..
YOHABLO
Feb 2013
#66
That would be a bigger legacy, then whoever it was that brought us the rural electrification program
reverend_tim
Feb 2013
#69
"whoever it was"??? Surely our creationist schools haven't edited the "New Deal" out of the history
Peace Patriot
Feb 2013
#121
Am fur it! Jus as long as the teleco's dont find some way to charge ya fur usin it!!!
benld74
Feb 2013
#78
This is huge. I will believe it when I see it. And how about faster data transfers, maybe like
rhett o rick
Feb 2013
#86
No, it's just that I've already been through this same fucking argument.
Warren DeMontague
Feb 2013
#135