A new group of veteran wireless entrepreneurs - the Wireless Founders
Coalition for Innovation - sent a letter last week to Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin to provide its
"real-world" perspective for why "open access" requirements are critical
for the proposed 700 MHz E Block (TelecomWeb news break, June 5), which
they say represents just a small portion of this beachfront spectrum to
be auctioned later this year.
"We are writing as members of the Wireless Founders Coalition for
Innovation, which is a group of seasoned wireless industry entrepreneurs
who have founded wireless companies that now generate billions of
dollars of revenue and have created thousands of jobs," the letter says
in part. "We have brought innovation to the wireless industry by
creating new business models, launching new services, and addressing
pressing consumer needs that were previously ignored by the large
wireless carriers."
The coalition for is made of up 15 C-level wireless leaders who have
been involved in such companies as Virgin Mobile USA, Zingy, Palmsource,
Palm, Seven Networks, BitWave Semiconductor and a host of smaller startups.
"We write in support of an Open Access E Block, as described in
Frontline's proposal. We believe the wireless industry is ripe with
opportunities for innovation and economic growth, but the large wireless
carriers currently act as gatekeepers to block or deter many of these
opportunities. From firsthand experience we know that negotiating with
the large carriers for access to their networks can be a difficult and
time-consuming process that can add months if not years to the launch of
a new venture and hinder the 'trial and error' process intrinsic to the
entrepreneurial process," the group continued. "An 'Open Access'
framework, by contrast, would enable innovation at 'Internet speed.'"
It continues, "As entrepreneurs we are not only visionaries, we are
pragmatists. We know it is difficult to for the FCC </search/?query=FCC>
to force the large carriers to open up their existing networks
retroactively. Nor do we ask the FCC to apply Open Access rules to the
entire 700 MHz band. However, we think it is eminently reasonable for
the FCC to consider setting aside a single 10-megahertz block in the
upcoming auction - a small fraction of the 700 MHz spectrum allocated to
commercial use - as a sandbox for entrepreneurs. We applaud the
Commission for paving the way for the DTV transition and freeing this
valuable spectrum for new and exciting services. We believe, however,
that this effort will have been wasted if it does not create
opportunities for entrepreneurs to freely explore new ideas, services,
and business models."
The group then points out a significant difference between working with
telcos and cablecos and working with celcos. "Wireless entrepreneurship
would take a huge step forward if wireless was more like the Internet.
What makes the wireline Internet so friendly from an entrepreneur's
perspective is its openness. One does not have to ask Comcast or Time
Warner Cable or even Verizon </search/?query=Verizon>'s DSL division for
permission to launch a new product, service or device. To borrow the
Nike slogan, you can 'just do it,'" they write.
The complete text of this story, outlining this group and its goals, is
available on Telecom Policy Report at http://www.telecomweb.com/news/tpr.
http://www.telecomweb.com/tnd/23706.html
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