SpectrumTalk

Duelling Letters to Congress

Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object

It's been a busy week here in Washington, my home town. On June 20 a group of 29 companies and organizations sent a letter to all members of Congress expressing their support for the FCC Docket 04-186 proposals for allowing unlicensed systems to share "white space"/holes in TV spectrum on an interference free basis. The signers, listed below, include Microsoft, Google, H-P, Dell, Philips, and the American Electronics Association - a Silicon Valley-based New Economy trade group.

Not to be outdone, The Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) sent their own letter with opposition recommendations on June 21 on behalf of the Old Economy.

Readers who lie outside the beltway and are not members of Congress might wish to compare the two letters and see which one makes more sense.


Signers of June 20,2007 letter in favor of
unlicensed devices in TV bands

New America Foundation
Microsoft Corporation
Association for Competitive Technology
Dell
NYCWireless
Hewlett-Packard
Consumer Federation of America
Intel
Media Access Project
EarthLink, Inc.
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Google, Inc.
CompTIA
Wireless Internet Service Providers Association
National Hispanic Media Coalition
Free Press
PointOne
CTCnet
Southern California Tribal Digital Village
i3 Networks
The VON Coalition
National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
Philips
EDUCAUSE
Business Software Alliance
USA Datanet
American Electronics Association
Public Knowledge
Information Technology Industry Council