Google Pushing FCC For Use of Underutilized Airwaves

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Google Pushing FCC For Use of Underutilized Airwaves

engine

4:53 pm on Mar 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

Google Inc. sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission presenting its plans to develop television "white space" - unlicensed and unused TV airwaves - to provide wireless Internet access to the entire U.S.
For some time Google - working with other technology companies including Intel Corp., Philips Electronics NV and Microsoft Corp. - has pressed the FCC to open up the white spaces for unlicensed use in hopes of enabling more widespread, affordable Internet access over the airwaves.
"As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized," wrote Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media lawyer in the letter. "Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow."

Google Pushing FCC For Use of Underutilized Airwaves [online.wsj.com]

bwnbwn

6:23 pm on Mar 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

Man the other providers are gonna fight this to the death to keep Google from out of the US market.

Think about it from the amount of traffic generated from this I bet if Google gets it they will give it away boy talking about domination.

This may throw them into if not already classsified as monopoly for real. I know we all talked about it but this just might throw them over the edge.

BillyS

6:56 pm on Mar 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

I don't get it. Google is going to spend tons of money to make the internet free? Why would they do that? So they could sell some more ads. Seems like an expensive way to increase market share to me.

bwnbwn

7:12 pm on Mar 24, 2008 (gmt 0)

free for a time period like they did Google merchant accounts as it gets the signups they need to generate the revenue on down the road.

igors

2:24 am on Mar 25, 2008 (gmt 0)

so much stereotype ... You have a job today because of google .... hope they do monopolize the Internet

[edited by: engine at 10:43 am (utc) on Mar. 25, 2008]

rushglen

2:43 am on Mar 25, 2008 (gmt 0)

Has this anything to do with the Google phone?

jimbeetle

3:08 am on Mar 25, 2008 (gmt 0)

There's going to be a lot of pushback on this across the board, from the television stations that say their frequencies are being infringed, to the folks that are paying big bucks for licenses. Might get very, very interesting: Old(er) Media + New(er) Media vs. G.

You have a job today because of google

Nope, sorry. Was here before Google. Am here during Google. Hopefully will be around post Google.

Hugene

6:10 pm on Mar 25, 2008 (gmt 0)

I don't think the goal is to make the Internet free.

The problem is that, wireless providers are locking in customers to their network, choking development in the next wave of Internet use, the mobile device.

Imagine, that to access the Internet on your PC, you were forced to sign a 3 year contract, buy/use a particular brand of PC only, and were unable to browse at high speeds because of the prohibitive price of data transfer. That wouldn't fly too high, would it. Actually, if it was like that, G, Y and a ton of other companies wouldn't exits.

Basically, G is flexing it's muscle to wrestle out a bunch of old players holding tight and choking a currently closed market.