America: Land of the Free... Internet?

by Chris Neiger

Yesterday I read reports that the FCC is considering auctioning off air waves to private companies in an effort to set up a network of free wireless Internet to millions of homes in the U.S. The New York Times spoke with FCC spokesman, Rob Kenny, about the June 12 meeting where the proposal will be discussed. He said, ''We're hoping there will be increased interest (in the proposal) and because this will provide wireless broadband services to more Americans it is certainly something we want to see.''

A couple of years ago, M2Z Networks Inc. asked for the unused airwaves and in exchange they would pay the FCC 5% of their advertising revenue, but the FCC did not accept the proposal because they wanted several bidders to compete for the airwaves. A similar auction earlier this year did not go so well for the FCC when they put unused airwaves on the table with the idea that a private company would buy them then have to set up an emergency communication network... go figure.

Obviously, this isn't the first stab at getting free (or low cost) Internet to the masses. A few years ago Philadelphia set up a low cost Internet system with Earthlink that was supposed to be the model of wireless Internet for other cities. Unfortunately, it was just reported earlier this month that the costs were too high for Earthlink, and they fell very short of receiving the minimum subscribers they thought they'd get. They've also had problems trying to give the system away to the city or a non-profit, or even paying an organization to take it. Earthlink is trying similar strategies in New Orleans and Corpus Cristi, to see if they can get different results elsewhere.

With these attempts, hopefully one day we'll be able to provide cheaper Internet, while still producing profit for private businesses through advertising or other means. In the meantime, we'll have to wait and see if the FCC even O.K.'s the proposal and allows these airwaves to go up for auction. If they do, let's hope it someone comes up with a plan to actually make this idea work.