FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Planning Free Nationwide Wi-Fi

[Jazzy]

Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is drafting a proposal that would create a free public wi-fi network that would cover the U.S., reports the Washington Post.



Companies lobbying for the universal wi-fi network say it could spark innovation and usher in prosperity.



Universal wi-fi networks would enable cars to communicate and avoid accidents, bring millions of new devices online and make the Internet part of everyday life. Millions of Americans could stop paying mobile phone bills and home Internet subscriptions.



“Freeing up unlicensed spectrum is a vibrantly free-market approach that offers low barriers to entry to innovators developing the technologies of the future and benefits consumers,” Genachowski told the Washington Post in an email.



Companies such as Google and Microsoft want free public wi-fi because their devices would benefit, but AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Intel oppose the plan, as they currently make $178 billion annually by charging people access to the Internet (which was built with taxpayer money).

Source



I want free wi-fi!

 

[Evil Eye]

Hmm. Sounds good. In theory.

It'll probably be horrendously slow, if it does get created.