Interference Queries Unanswered In FCC's Free Net Proposal

Paper has been flying at the Federal Communications Commission since its technicians traveled to Seattle three weeks ago to determine whether wireless Internet activity on an unused block of airwaves would cause interference in an adjacent swath owned primarily by T-Mobile USA. The problem is that the FCC hasn't weighed in on the results, leaving parties on both sides scrambling to offer competing interpretations. T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, says wireless Internet activity on the now-fallow channels would cripple its own wireless network, causing dropped calls and wide coverage holes for subscribers in densely populated areas. M2Z Networks Inc., a startup that wants to use the airwaves for nationwide free Internet service, says that with reasonable standards, interference on T- Mobile's network would be so minimal it wouldn't be noticed.