If you're looking for evidence of demand for something -- the kind that begs fulfillment by vigorous entrepreneurship and fresh innovation -- just consider the matter of "wardriving" and "warwalking". Neither has anything to do with war in the usual sense of the word, though both were inspired by a scene from the movie "War Games." WAR in this case means Wireless Access Reconnaissance.
Right now, wireless access reconnaissance is an activity confined mostly to hackers sharing their bandwidth in public spaces, and savvy laptop-users looking for cafés, bookshops and park benches where they can enjoy a little bit of that same bandwidth. (See this month's "Linux For Suits" column for my own warwalking experience in London.)
But warwalking has two key earmarks of a popular trend: 1) the hackers are busy providing the free and open infrastructure for it; and 2) lawmakers and incumbent corporate interests are lining up in favor or opposition to it.
Favoring it is a broad concept called Open Spectrum, the purpose of which is to expand the few channels currently used for wireless net access (via "wi-fi" or 802.11b). The idea is to set aside (rather than auction off -- the current FCC default) a slice of spectrum for unlicensed use.
Taking the political lead is Rep. John Markey (D.-Mass.), who has introduced Open Spectrum legislation. Here's an excerpt from a recent speech:
I have introduced legislation in the Congress (H.R. 4641) to promote a "Spectrum Commons." High tech manufacturers, entrepreneurs and the proverbial 'kid in the garage' could make more robust use of wireless communications if sufficient spectrum were available in unlicensed form for the general public.
The bill requires the FCC to establish a 20 Megahertz band of contiguous frequencies below 2 Gigahertz as well as between 3 to 500 Megahertz between 2 Gigahertz and 6 Gigahertz - a swath of the airwaves that would remain open to the public and unlicensed. Such a public set-aside could foster the formation of an open platform for innovation, entrepreneurial activity, and public communications. It would also militate against unhealthy consolidation of spectrum in the hands of too few providers.
Last November Kevin Werbach of EDventure Holdings -- an industry analyst and former Counsel for New Technology Policy at the FCC -- wrote an open letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell that closed with this paragraph:
In your October 23 press conference, you pledged to “continue strong support for unlicensed bands where feasible.” While this endorsement is welcome, it is not enough. The Commission must actively reform its spectrum policies to encourage rather than prevent innovation.
Linux advocates might want to encourage their congressional representatives to do the same thing.
- Doc Searls