Why the Airwaves Auction Matters to Progressives

 Why the Airwaves Auction Matters to Progressives
By Timothy Karr (webmaster@huffingtonpost.com)
In addition to the C Block and its open access conditions, the FCC has reserved a separate "D Block" to provide a new, interoperable national network for public safety users that would also be shared with commercial users. ...

…Millions of cell phone users in Europe and Asia now use hand-held devices to surf the Web. In the United States, however, cell phone companies dictate nearly every aspect of our wireless experience, preferring a "walled garden" to Europe's more open model. America's closed system is largely the byproduct of poor oversight; the FCC has long granted to carriers like AT&T and Verizon almost complete control over the ways consumers access the airwaves. In Europe and Asia, policies forced carriers to open wireless networks and allow users far more flexibility -- connecting across networks with a choice of devices, services and applications. The proprietary approach of U.S. carriers has failed to foster similar competition, innovation and choice -- leaving American consumers a generation behind their foreign counterparts…