FCC Delays Free Spectrum Proposal

Just as a cellular industry trade association released a scathing letter against a proposal that would deliver free wireless Internet access across the country, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission decided not to vote on the proposal next week as planned.

The FCC had expected to vote on June 12 on a proposal to auction a 25MHz piece of spectrum in the 2155Mhz band and require the winner to use a specified amount of spectrum to deliver free wireless Internet access. The plan would also require the operator to use content filtering to ensure that underage people couldn't access adult content over the connection.

However, the schedule for next week's meeting, posted on the FCC Web site on Thursday, does not include an item indicating that the group will discuss the auction plan.

The FCC first floated the concept last year but the idea has generated a flurry of opposition from entrenched operators recently because the commission has said that it would vote on the plan next week.

On Thursday, the CTIA, a trade group representing mobile operators, said in an FCC filing that there is ample evidence that companies that offer free Internet access fail. It pointed to dial-up providers who tried it, such as NetZero and Juno, as well as the long list of free metropolitan Wi-Fi networks that have recently shut down.

The operators have also expressed concern about some of the technical rules that the FCC is proposing, saying that they are sure to cause interference and thus degrade the quality of existing mobile services. The operators asked the FCC to offer more time and transparency into the technical details so that they can ensure existing services won't be affected.

The FCC did not reply to requests for comment about why it decided not to discuss the proposal next week.