Politics

ISPCON Policy Update:
The Law and the WISPs

At ISPCON's regular policy and government update, there was lots of news for wireless ISPs, and some of it was good news.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [June 8, 2007]

Mark J. O'Connor, founding member of Washington, D.C.-based law firm Lampert and O'Connor, plc., said that WISPs should keep an eye on several ongoing proceedings:

• TV white spaces
• 700 MHz auction
• 3.65 GHz WiMAX proceeding
• Skype wireless devices proceeding

"The last six years have been bleak for CLECs and ISPs," admitted O'Connor. "But some cautious optimism in wireless is warranted. I think the FCC has destroyed ISPs as much as possible, but some opportunities remain open to wireless providers."

Recent developments
O'Connor said that in the white spaces proceeding, "the February 2009 date in still on, although we may see a Second Report and Order, perhaps this summer. Before the date itself, we could see a Democratic FCC."

Nate Anderson at Ars Technica wrote last year (FCC opens up "white spaces" to consumer electronics).

The approach that is ultimately chosen will have a huge effect on the uses that the spectrum is put to: Just think of the success of cordless phones and WiFi, two wildly successful wireless technologies that have taken advantage of unlicensed spectrum. On the other hand, think of the interference issues that result when your 2.4GHz cordless phone rings and disconnects your WiFi-welcome to the downside of unlicensed spectrum.

In the Logan Airport case (see FCC rebukes Logan, says Continental can offer WiFi), the FCC allowed the airline to run a Wi-Fi service even though the contract it signed with the airport forbid the service. This should allow wireless providers greater access to areas from which they have been forbidden. "The FCC overrode the lease because it wants to encourage new wireless networks," said O'Connor.

Recently, the FCC defined the internet as an information service and as an interstate service. State regulators have not ceded authority to the federal government, a fight that will play out in the courts.

O'Connor pointed to Section 224: Pole Attachments of the United States Code covering telecommunications. "You have rights," he said. "If you also provide phone service, you can attach to utility poles at a regulated rate, although the utilities are tough to deal with."

Question
In the question and answer session, an attendee asked what was next on 700 MHz.

O'Connor said that the bi companies—Microsoft and Intel and Google—are "not your enemy." They support a flexible licensing regime that allows companies to buy and sell spectrum on a secondary market.

This would make it easier to smaller companies to buy spectrum. Only large companies can invest millions in something they might not use.

"Equipment companies are starting to see that a telephone/cable duopoly won't buy new equipment," said O'Connor.

In addition, Reed Hundt's group, Frontline, has "a lot of juice in Washington, D.C." A glance at the headlines shows that's true—the company's support ranges from Google to Presidential candidate John Edwards to the powerful people who are part of the company.

—End