FCC Chairman Presses Free Web, Spectrum Link

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he remains committed to selling a block of airwaves with conditions that the winner offer free Internet. "I think if someone was willing to make that kind of a commitment...that's a significant public-interest benefit that I think the commission should take into account," Chairman Martin said Tuesday at a hearing before the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. Martin was forced to withdraw an item from Thursday's FCC meeting agenda about a planned airwaves auction that would have required the winner to give most Americans free wireless-Internet service within the next few years. M2Z Networks Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up, proposed a similar plan last year. At the hearing, Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL), asked Martin to postpone the plan. Rep. Stearns said placing conditions on airwaves auctions hasn't been a successful tactic in the past.
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