Free Internet

M2Z: Free Internet Now!

Posted by samc on August 15th, 2007

M2Z’s plan to provide “free” internet access the United States (pdf), is getting cold shoulders from the FCC, reports ArsTecnica. M2Z may take the agency to court (pdf), over its refusal to rule on its request for 20MHz of spectrum in the AWS band.

M2Z (which stands for Move To Zero) wants the FCC to “give” the company 20 Mhz of spectrum in the 2GHz band (2155-2175MHz). In exchange they’d offer free wireless broadband to 95 percent of all American residents within 10 years — and provide The Treasury with 5% of the profits off the top, mostly coming from its premium service.

M2Z would use the simplex part of the AWS spectrum (from 2155Mhz to 2175 Mhz). M2Z says their proposal solves the Universal Service Fund dilemma. The M2Z free tier would be slow — 384kbps down and 128kbps up and would be supported by ad revenues. M2Z’s 3Mbps premium service would have a monthly fee — perhaps $20-$40/month.

M2Z’s request has met with some support from a handful of congressmen and some organizations, like Public Knowledge and the PTA, with over 2,000 favorable comments submitted to the FCC on its plan, says ArsTechnica.

Cellular carriers oppose the plan. The CTIA argued in an FCC filing (PDF) that the plan creates “a number of legal and public policy problems without serving the public interest” and that M2Z should have to bid on spectrum like everyone else.

The Wall Street Journal claims that the FCC is preparing to deliver some bad news to M2Z Networks, as Chairman Kevin Martin has reportedly been circulating a negative response to the rest of the commissioners. That would likely render M2Z’s legal threats moot, says The Journal.

The CTIA called M2Z’s plan a “self-serving attempt to gain access to valuable spectrum outside of the auction process (pdf).” Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal opined that the FCC’s 700 MHz Auction May Benefit Single Company — Verizon.

The (in)action by the FCC on M2Z’s proposal might come as no surprise. A unilateral decision, such as the one M2Z wanted, could result in a law suit, delaying action still further. An auction with a variety of criteria (including a “free” tier), might be a safer bet for the agency.

Besides, The FCC Rules on 700MHz may encourage Google (or others) to offer similar low-cost nation-wide service — and pay for the spectrum up-front.

source : dailywireless.org