Over the next few years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the government body charged with regulating national radio, television, wire, satellite and cable communications, has plans of buying back spectrum from TV broadcasters and AM radio. In freeing up this spectrum, they hope to be able to auction some of it to cellular data providers to further expand the coverage of high-speed mobile data, also known as "4G." However, the bigger news seems to be that the FCC plans on reserving some of this spectrum in an effort to spur the construction of a nation-wide WiFi network, dubbed "Super WiFi." While the networks would be built privately, they would operate on free public spectrum, and this new Super WiFI network service would be sold to the public for an inexpensive price. The hope is that this spectrum (and the Super WiFi network that runs on it) would spur industry innovation, much like the 2.4GHz band being freed prompted the cordless phone, garage door opener, and our current IEEE 2.4GHz 802.11 WiFi standard. While it has been reported as a free WiFi network (as seen in the Washington Post this week), the network would not in fact be free, but would run on freed spectrum. However, without spectrum licensing costs or purchases required, it is possible that the infrastructure could be put in place with existing technology at a low cost, meaning less money that needs to be recouped, and a larger coverage area (and thus a larger potential market and customer base) could drive prices down even further.
Critics of the plan, including Intel, Qualcomm, AT&T, and T-Mobile, have argued that the FCC would make more money auctioning off all the spectrum, and point to the 2008 auction of cellular spectrum that resulted in a $20 billion profit. However, because the spectrum being targeted this time is in such a narrow band, it is expected to sell for significantly less if auctioned off. For their part, Intel and Qualcomm manufacture many of the signal processing chips that go into mobile data networks, meaning an inexpensive, national WiFi network would greatly cut into their bottom line, as it would for AT&T and T-Mobile, two of the nation's four largest cellular providers.
Google and Microsoft, among others, have come out in support of the plan, claiming that the industry innovation would lead to greater revenue and economic growth for both the companies involved and for the government. They also claim that a robust, national WiFi network is necessary for a coming "internet of things," where regular household and mobile devices will all connect to each other and be able to share information, and your environment can collect information and send information to you. For their part, Google and Microsoft essentially control the global personal computing market, with Windows and Android controlling the PC and mobile spaces, respectively. A national WiFi network would potentially mean a constant data connection for all their devices, resulting in more flexibility and enhanced user experience.
While the auction isn't until 2014, and the technology is still years away (and still has to get by the telecomm lobby), it could potentially change they way that the average American uses the internet. No longer would the internet be an expensive tool that needs to be accessed via some portal (be it a smartphone, PC, or tablet), but it would be a cheap network of information constantly collecting and sending information, with or without your prompt from a user. Cellular companies could potentially see their entire business crumble, since the WiFi (WLAN) offers better latency and speeds than cellular data can. An inexpensive, national WiFi network could also greatly impact K-12 education, especially in economically-challenged and urban areas. The ability to access the internet is still out of reach for many people, including students. While some of us may view it as a right, for many, the internet is a luxury due to the inflated prices charged by monopolistic telecomm companies. The reality is that the trend for the last two decades has been for information to go digital, and this network (along with the unbridled access it provides) could be the final push needed for complete information digitization.
As a side note, it is ironic that Intel is against this technology, when it is their technology that might make it possible. Intel's "Moore's Law Radio" has been in development for over 10 years, and is essentially an entirely digital radio. Up until now, all radio signals, including those for cell phones, TV, and WiFi, have been transmitted as analog and converted to digital signals inside the devices. Analog is limited by current technology in that miniaturization would result in signal degradation beyond recovery. Thus, radio chips had to stay (relatively) large and power-hungry. By creating an all digital radio, Intel will be able to miniaturize the chips and reduce power consumption, leading to inexpensive radio chips that can be placed inside of anything and run off small batteries or even be self-powered.
As a fan of science fiction, I find this topic to be particularly interesting out of the other news this week because this could eventually be the catalyst for a wave of new, futuristic technology. Smart houses, roads, cars, and buildings would no longer be out of the realm of possibility. Impromptu social networks could be formed on the spot anywhere, anytime. Security could be greatly increased. Stolen devices will always be connected, able to report their location. It could also revolutionize the commerce. Imagine stores knowing ahead of time what you want to buy from your browsing history, preparing your personalized order as soon as you step into the store, and charging you wirelessly as soon as you step out with any items you want. Or perhaps a smart car that can communicate with your smart house, meaning doors and windows always lock when you leave; lights turn on and off automatically depending on your presence; heaters and air conditioners turn on and off automatically when you leave or approach your house from blocks away; and work you did in your self-driving car while on your tablet, laptop, or smartphone syncs and shows up on your home device as soon as you get home, ready to be worked on some more. The possibilities are endless.
As for next week's topic, I don't know much, if anything, about information analysis. As for productivity tools, I take it to mean tools like online storage, like GitHub or Google Drive (Docs), that allow for synchronization and collaboration, reducing the amount of time backtracking between multiple copies of a file. I would want to know how enterprise level cloud storage fits into this overall picture of productivity tools, and whether the trend for companies to move to cloud storage will continue and what problems it might present.
Links:
Business Insider - FCC Govt WiFi
Tech Radar - FFC Exploring Super WiFi
Washington Post
Digital Trends - Intel's Moore's Law Radio
No comments:
Post a Comment