According to muni-wireless activist Sascha Meinrath, “[t]wo bills were introduced on Friday that would radically improve unlicensed wireless access.”
Both bills would greatly improve the general public’s access to the public airwaves. The first bill, “The Wireless Innovation Act of 2006,” is a major bi-partisan effort to line up Senators to support Community Wireless. The second, “The American Broadband for Communities Act,” is led by Republican Senator Stevens and does much the same.
Both bills would open up TV broadcast bands (as proposed by FCC proceedings 04-186) within the next 180 days. These bills are particularly important because of FCC proceedings 05-312 (read the wireless communities’ concerns about the 05-312 proceedings here). The 04-186 proceedings are something that I and many other people have been actively working towards for quite some time.
In a recent post I discussed some of these issues, and cited some documents worth reading on the subject. I look forward to seeing the specific wording of the bills Sascha references, and agree with his closing comment that “it is fantastic news to see US Senators” supporting unlicensed use of DTV spectrum. I also share his hope “that we’ll finally see some reforms to make more efficient use of the public airwaves,” though my hope is balanced by doubts that any such bill could withstand the fierce opposition it would almost certainly face from broadcasters.
Mitch Shapiro at 9:06 PM|Comments(0)
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