Free Broadband for the Masses

FREE BROADBAND FOR THE MASSES
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Rosenbush]
M2Z Networks, a company launched by former FCC Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta, wants to offer free wireless broadband to consumers across the US. M2Z aims provide a basic advertiser-supported service at no cost to consumers. It would charge fees for premium services, such as faster connection speeds. "The model here is broadcast TV," said Muleta, referring to free over-the-air TV, which is supported by ad revenue. He founded the company with Milo Medin, founder of the @Home Networks broadband service. But what may sound like a straightforward plan won't be easy to put into practice. M2Z's biggest obstacle is gaining access to the radio airwaves over which wireless signals travel. The FCC typically sells the airwaves, or spectrum, at auctions where rival bidders spend large sums with no guarantee that they can secure the specific chunks of spectrum they want. The biggest-ever FCC auction of spectrum, worth an estimated $8 billion to $15 billion, is set to begin in August. Muleta wants to bypass the auction process altogether. He's hoping to strike a deal that would give him a preset block of underutilized spectrum in the range of 2155 megahertz to 2175 megahertz. The government has designated the spectrum for high-speed wireless services. Rather than fork over the up-front payments associated with auctions, M2Z wants to give the government 5% of annual sales.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2006/tc20060522_430352...

* Group makes play to build $400M wireless network
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12911687/

* Spectrum Is Too Valuable To Give Away
[SOURCE: New York Sun, AUTHOR: Former FCC Commissioner Harold Fuchtgott-Roth]
http://www.freepress.net/news/15628

* Company Asks U.S. to Provide Radio Space for Free Internet
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/technology/23wireless.html