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Onerous New Law to Phase Out Wi-Fi

You'll never guess what our clueless Congress has up its sleeve this time: an attack on the free 802.11x wireless spectrums.

April 1, 2008

I was certainly surprised when CNBC called me this morning, asking if I could go on the air for a few minutes with Erin Burnett to discuss the announced phase-out of public Wi-Fi (802.11x) in all its forms, including the emerging 802.11n. The congressional bills were passed this morning, apparently with little or no public debate.

This is not good news. The only possible positive here is that the ban on Wi-Fi will not begin until January 2012, but in the meantime most of the available public spectrum—including the unlicensed 2.3-GHz to 2.9-GHz spectrum—is scheduled to be auctioned off long before 2012. Anyone caught using unlicensed devices will be subject to "a fine not to exceed $100,000 and indeterminate jail time not to exceed five years."

The so-called Telecommunications Restructuring Act of 2008 was passed almost unanimously as a joint resolution based on SB 40108 and HR 17996-1. Essentially the free unlicensed spectrum is going to be auctioned off starting with the 2.3-GHz to 2.9-GHz frequencies, followed by the spectrum around 5 GHz and elsewhere.

The authors of the Senate bill, Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), sent out a joint press announcement explaining the rationale as part of a modernization process that will no longer sanction unlicensed frequencies due to interference issues and market confusion.

The two guys from the House who cosponsored the bill were Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Hastert was on the CNBC show with me and two other telecom "analysts."

Hastert actually said that the days of an unlicensed telecom "free-for-all" were over if for no other reason than that the spectrum was too valuable. When the Wi-Fi commentary began, he actually had the gall to say that the public was better served by the wireless phone companies and—get this—"V-DO." He was corrected by the Pricewaterhouse analyst, who told him it was EV-DO, and you got the sense that Hastert thought it had something to do with video, hence his calling it V-DO. Cripes.

I didn't get to say much as the show went into analyzing how a portfolio would be affected and whether Atheros or Broadcom stock would fall. It was mentioned in passing that ham radio operators will be further restricted, and the frequencies available to them will be very limited and perhaps will be sold off eventually, too. It should be fun to watch their reactions.

The other analyst was actually a guy from Comcast who explained that even though the frequencies will be auctioned off within the next fiscal year, Wi-Fi users—including Comcast—will be able to buy a license that will be good until the 2012 Wi-Fi shutdown date. In other words, you'll now have to pay what amounts to a tax to use your home or office network. The fee has not been determined. But apparently you'll have to put a license code into your SSID, and there will be serious enforcement of licensing restrictions by means of roving government vans with antennas on them to check on users.

What shocked me more than anything is the ridiculous license that will now be required for 2.3-GHz microwave ovens. Again, no fee was finalized, but most people are guessing that it will be $10 a month for what is called a "potential interference fee." The authorities admit that they cannot force current owners of microwave ovens to pay a fee, but it appears that anyone caught with an unlicensed oven will be subject to a hefty fine. In other words, do not let the police into your home if you want to shirk the fee.

Very few people voted against the joint resolution, with the nays coming from Ron Paul (R-TX) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) in the Senate. These are strange bedfellows indeed. None of the current presidential candidates took part in the vote, probably seeing it as a political hot potato.

Now it's up to the President to sign the bill. It's only too obvious to me that the big mobile phone carriers were behind this whole thing, and that means Bush will rubber-stamp it. All I can do is recommend that you go to the links below and take action.

Action you can take.

The details about the new law.

How to stop the law.

What you need to know.