Sascha Meinrath (left) reports on two bills, just introduced, that could break the deadlock of Infrastructure (or Information, or Digital Futures) Held Hostage by encouraging the development of community WiFi networks.
Major reform is afoot!
Two 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.
While many will argue that the two bills don’t go far
enough, they are a giant leap (not a baby step)
forward towards reforming
spectrum policies to make more efficient use of computer technology. I don’t
know if the drafts are public yet, but will post the texts once I get
confirmation.
Both bills would open up TV broadcast bands within the next 180 days. These bills are
particularly important because of FCC proceedings 05-312 and 04-186. (Both links are to Adobe PDF files.)
Obviously, it
is fantastic news to see US Senators taking up the same position as we’ve
been forwarding and I’m hopeful that we’ll finally see some reforms to make
more efficient use of the public airwaves.
