Yesterday's FCC ruling on the use of the upcoming spectrum auction is huge! MercuryNews.com reports:
In a 4-1 vote, the commission approved rules proposed by FCC Chairman Kevin
Martin that require the winner of the auction to allow any device and any
software application to run on the new network, a key victory for the technology
industry.
Compare that to the stranglehold that cell phone carriers have on their services. Plus, these are the frequencies that currently carry normal TV signals folks. Compare the reception of TV signals to cell phone signals and you can why Google thinks the 700MHz spectrum is SO valuable. I'm expecting a huge battle from the telcos. Still, it will be a long time before the infrastructure is ready, but I gotta think that Google already has deals with broadcasters in large markets to use their old towers or piggyback onto them. It is going to get SO exciting!