FCC sends mixed messages on free broadband wireless service

Supporters of the great crusade to build a nationwide, smutless, free broadband service may be a bit confused after last weeks's contradictory press statements and actions by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin. On Thursday he said he believes a free service is a good idea, but at the same time, the FCC took a whole bunch of Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) spectrum dockets off the agenda for its June 12th meeting that would have prompted some action on the free broadband proposal. Undaunted, M2Z keeps pressing its case with the FCC. The group met or filed repeatedly with the agency over the last five days—eight times in fact. M2Z hit on the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). At a meeting with the OET held on Thursday, June 5th, an M2Z spokesperson charged that Verizon's concerns "appear to be an effort to correct an unreasonable business decision to deploy foreign filters that are not optimized for their FCC license assignments."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080608-fcc-sending-mixed-messages...