Maybe the answer is for station groups to reinvent themselves as wireless broadband ISPs. That'll surprise the heck out of the incumbents. Bert ------------------------------------------ http://www.rethink-wireless.com/article.asp?article_id=1989&ckt=ON CTIA: FCC chairman sets out four priorities to achieve mobile broadband By CAROLINE GABRIEL Published: 8 October, 2009 This week saw two big telecoms events on either side of the Atlantic, and both had high profile attendance from regulators, calling for more spectrum and promising a more open approach to stimulating mobile broadband round the world. This was the message from ITU secretary general Hamadoun Touré at the ITU Telecoms World event in Geneva (see our round-up tomorrow), and from new FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, who kicked off the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment conference in San Diego. After welcoming Verizon Wireless' partnership with Google, the biggest pre-show news, he outlined a four-step plan for mobile broadband in the US. The first step is to free up the necessary spectrum, which he called "the oxygen of our mobile networks". While arguing that there is adequate availability for short term needs, he warned of a looming spectrum crisis as mobile data usage explodes. Second, then, he wants to reallocate spectrum being used for other purposes and start off a process of identifying this, in consultation with all involved parties. "There are no easy pickings on the spectrum chart," he warned. Third, he aims to create fair and workable rules for the open internet, for both wired and wireless networks. And fourth, he wants to create an environment that "empowers" the consumer, which in turn will boost competition and innovation, motivating companies and individuals to take risks and be creative. In his first major public speech as chair, he admitted there were many unanswered questions. "When we say that we haven't determined what we are going to do with handset exclusivity and we want your input, we mean it," he said. "The same applies to an open internet. We want you to be engaged." Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, said during his keynote address that he applauded the FCC's efforts to open up more spectrum and to reduce the bureaucracy for building and expanding wireless networks. But he argued against applying the same net neutrality rules to wireless systems as wireline, especially if the rules change after operators have spent large sums on licenses. "The rules should not change after the auction," he said. "How can you expect companies to invest billions of dollars if you change the rules?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.