In-flight Internet, up from the ground

By: John Borland
Topics: Broadband

Federal regulators cleared the way today for building in-flight wireless Internet services, with Net service beamed up from the ground instead of using satellites.

Now comes the tricky part.

The so-called ground-to-air spectrum, a special piece of the airwaves blocked off for exactly this purpose, has to be auctioned off to companies that want to provide service. According to CNN, the Verizon division that now operates the back-of-the-seat phones wants this to be a special kind of auction, where the whole chunk is given to just one bidder in order to ensure "robust" service. Others say that this will create an effective monopoly, and that there should be several companies offering service.

The FCC hasn't decided how to handle this auction yet, according to the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal said one of the Democrats on the panel is still worried about one company buying up too much, and creating an effective monopoly (more spectrum means more bandwidth available, with the potential for faster service and more customers).

Let's hope they ultimately vote against monopoly. Multiple companies should be able to find more innovative things to do with smaller chunks of the spectrum than one giant could do without competition.

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by ibsteve2u November 2, 2009 1:36 PM EST: All of the nuclear powers - with the exception of the U.S. of A. - were enabled by either traitors acting out of a misguided concept of conscience or capitalists-who-were-just-making-a-buck-it-is-only-business-you-know-type-traitors.

The vast majority of the knowledge and equipment required to develop nuclear devices was distributed by the latter.

Is why I laugh when the righties say that capitalism is the only "good" system...that is bullhockey; there are far too many people - especially among those types who make up our right - that believe that the profit motive - capitalism - justifies anything.

Any system will work - if you can keep a lid on the evil, greedy types.

Our Republicans represent the absence of that lid, just as Israel's right does, or Iran's hard-core fundamentalists do, or al Qaida does.

Giving any of them access to weapons that can cause mass destruction is just stupid...suicidal, even.; Reply to this comment

by 6591Hou November 2, 2009 12:50 PM EST

The playbook is as old as diplomacy - stall the talks, delay - delay - delay, give an inch, move back two inches - in the mean time finish doing what they're trying to talk you out of doing. PLO, China, North Vietnamese, Soviet Union all played this game and won at it because the diplomats talk and nobody acts until it's too late.

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by jwesel1 November 2, 2009 12:53 PM EST: Israel has been playing this game since 1949, carving up the Palestinian land and building settlements all the time while pointing that "we want to vacate the land but the settlers won't agree".


by 6591Hou November 2, 2009 6:01 PM EST: jwesel1-
And this story had what to do with Israel? Nothing?


by smoknmirrors November 2, 2009 10:52 AM EST: One question for the pundits of Oz. When Obama fails, as you hope he does and as you predict he will, and Iran, North Korea, Palestine, Afghanistan, China and Russia succeed in his place (since failure for one means success for its opposite), exactly which is it you hope for your neighbors, co-workers, relatives, families and friends here in the U.S.?; Reply to this comment

by BeckieBest November 2, 2009 9:23 AM EST

Iran will have a nuclear weapon and there is little, if anything, we can do about it because we've squandered our wealth, military muscle, and our credibility in the Iraq debacle.

Thanks Bushies!

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by Marc_1986 November 2, 2009 10:21 AM EST: You're funny.


by Crazy-92 November 2, 2009 4:45 PM EST: They have nuclear weapons, will think about it, the US is not that stupid enough not to have any too right, so I bet ya when our enemy launch those nucs, the US will launch there's too.