In May of last year, Apple Computer proposed a wireless "National Information Infrastructure band" to the FCC. The idea, announced with much fanfare, was to set aside 300 MHz of radio spectrum for free use by schools, libraries, and rural communities to connect to the Net.
But bad news came recently when the FCC announced its support for a separate Apple-backed proposal (this one for low-power wireless LANs) not for the NII band.
What incensed supporters of the original proposal was that Apple CEO Gilbert Amelio went ahead and heralded the result as a victory for "public-benefit networks," when it will more likely benefit Apple's checkbook.
"Apple blew it," claims Gordon Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Report on the Internet. According to Cook, Apple focused almost exclusively on advancing the more commercially attractive LAN proposal.
Not true, says Jim Burger, Apple's senior director of government affairs. "And even if it was true, people who support the NII band proposal need to register their comments with the FCC, not bash Apple."
Steve G. Steinberg
ELECTRIC WORD
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