Open Access for the 700 MHz Auction

OPEN ACCESS FOR THE 700 MHZ AUCTION
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Simon Wilkie, University of Southern California]
Wilkie analyzes the competitive effects of recent proposals to reserve a small portion of the upcoming 700 MHz band auction for wholesale, open-access use. Using this license, a wholesale open-access licensee would build out the wireless network, own and operate the cell sites, towers, and radio equipment, and provide transport to the Internet backbone. For the purposes of this report, “open access” means that there would be “no locking and no blocking” by the network operator. That is, there would be no prohibitions against devices that may be connected to the network so long as the devices are compatible with, and do not harm, the network (i.e., no “locking”), and there would be no restrictions against content, applications, or services that may be accessed over the network (i.e., no “blocking”). Verizon’s decision to reject Apple’s iPhone is a recent example of locking, and its prohibitions against video streaming, peer-to-peer file sharing, and other applications are examples of blocking.
http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/open_access_700_mhz_auctio...