Public Airwaves for the Public Good Petition

[JMJ]

Any US citizens involved in .mobi or uses any sort of wireless product for that matter should sign the petition below. To put it simple the FCC is voting on allowing large companies to bid on newly released public airwaves which could be used by individual innovators and/or large companies to further our wireless technology here in the US. If these large companies get to bid it out then just those few companies control those airwaves. If they stay public anyone can use them and not have to pay Mr. Big Company a fee.


* Families would no longer be forced to choose solely between
high-priced phone and cable Internet. A new wireless market--including
lots of competition within that market--would mean more affordable
Internet access for families.
* Poor and rural communities which phone and cable companies never
bothered to wire with high-speed Internet access could now have
high-speed Internet signals beamed directly into their homes.
* Blackberry and other handheld wireless users are currently blocked by
phone companies from accessing Internet-based phone service and other
innovative services [2]. The FCC could stop these anti-competitive,
anti-consumer practices by mandating wireless Net Neutrality.
* Socially responsible buyers could someday go to a store, scan the bar
codes of products with an Internet-equipped cell phone, and find out
which items are socially responsible. Phone companies can currently
block such innovations from working with their devices (they often try
to shake down innovators into giving them a massive cut of their
profits)--but the FCC can prohibit such practices on these newly
available airwaves.
* Technology consumers in America are currently denied all sorts of
cutting-edge technology that people in other countries have--like
using Internet-equipped cell phones to buy products, transfer money,
or give to charity. By opening the doors to competition and
innovation, the FCC can change that.

P.P.S. Can you support this people-powered campaign today? As corporations
like AT&T and Verizon spend millions to get public policy skewed in their
favor, we will win these fights because of the power of regular people. A
donation of $10, $20, or more would go a long way. You can donate here:
https://civic.moveon.org/donatec4/cr...663-fLqXeQ&t=5

Sources:

1. Paper describing "warehousing" of airwaves by dominant companies to
keep competition out of the market--by Simon Wilkie, Director of Center
for Communication Law and Policy at the University of Southern California,
March 26, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2594&id=10...663-fLqXeQ&t=6

2. "Wireless Net Neutrality: Cellular Carterfone and Consumer Choice in
Mobile Broadband," Working Paper by Prof. Tim Wu, February 15, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2592&id=10...663-fLqXeQ&t=7

Hooking Up," Prof. Tim Wu commentary in Forbes, May 18, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2627&id=10...663-fLqXeQ&t=8

3. "Use spare spectrum for the Net; High-speed internet should be one of
the FCC's priorities as it auctions valuable airwave rights," Los Angeles
Times editorial, April 13, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2593&id=10...663-fLqXeQ&t=9



The petition

http://www.civic.moveon.org/airwaves/

Some additional info from a blogger
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/4/6/151757/5697