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Re. "95% open spectrum" - Now we're really getting into the interesting tangents! I'm still on the fence about de-privatizing spectrum for a variety of reasons

Re. "95% open spectrum" - Now we're really getting into the interesting tangents! I'm still on the fence about de-privatizing spectrum for a variety of reasons. But the biggest elephant in the room whenever discussing spectrum de-privatization is that the FCC earned US$45 billion from wireless carriers last year, and US$19 billion in 2008's auction (http://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-rakes-in-45-billion-from-wireless-spectrum-auction/ http://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-rakes-in-45-billion-from-wirele...). In the grand scheme of the entire US federal budget, I think that's just a drop in the bucket. But it's still money that the federal government looks forward to. So on the one hand, the FCC wants to play fair for consumers and tax-payers. On the other hand, the FCC can't really restructure an existing industry without biting the hand that literally feeds their existence to the tune of US$2-3 billion per year if you imagine their auction revenue as ratable over the years an auction doesn't take place.

zanny 11y ago
Considering we're on a topic that is complete fantasy anyway, you could just rebudget the FCC. They aren't getting paid 3 billion a year of magic money - they are being funded effectively by the users of the networks that buy the spectrum in their bills they pay to the carrier. Obviously we can look at the FCC and know it will not actually break up the spectrum monopolies, because its a conflict of interest. That doesn't change that privitization of radio waves is hostile to everyone but those who can exploit their ownership for profit.