Jumpstart Broadband: Wireless as an Affordable, Last-Mile Internet Connection

In recent years, the sluggish telecommunications industry has been buzzed by the wild-fire success of "Wi-Fi" -- a technology that uses license-exempt spectrum to allow many users to share a single high-speed Internet connection on a wireless basis. Hotels and coffee shops are turning into "hot spots" - and campuses and public spaces into wireless "hot zones." Now, this low-power, inexpensive technology has advanced beyond Starbucks to connect thousands of rural and suburban consumers - farms, small businesses, home-schooling families and others - offering an affordable solution to the "last mile" problem. But will the FCC open more low-frequency spectrum for sharing, or will the tremendous economic and social benefits of unlicensed last mile broadband be smothered in the cradle?

This Capitol Hill forum will demonstrate how low-cost, last mile wireless connections are already a reality in some rural and urban areas. We will hear from entrepreneurs and community associations providing affordable, wireless broadband service where wired connections are unavailable or unaffordable.

The policy implications of this grassroots, market-based movement are immense. This policy forum takes its inspiration from the visionary "Jumpstart Broadband Act" introduced by Senators Boxer and Allen in January of 2003, calling for additional unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz bands for high-speed, wireless data networking. After the Defense Department agreed to protocols to protect military radar, the FCC has followed suit, proposing that an additional 255 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.470-5.725 GHz band be allocated for unlicensed sharing. This forum will discuss what more can be done to jumpstart wireless broadband deployment.

Participants

• Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
  


• Tim Pozar
  Telecommunications Engineer & Founder, Bay Area Wireless Group (BAWUG)


• Marty Dougherty
  CEO, Roadstar Internet Services


• Andy Demidont
  Superintendent of Schools, Rockwood Pennsylvania


• Jeffrey Campbell
  Director, Technology and Communications Policy, Cisco Systems


• Peter Pitsch
  Communications Policy Director, Intel Corporation


• David Furth
  Associate Chief, FCC Wireless Bureau


• James H. Johnston
  Telecom Attorney and Author


• J.H. Snider
  Senior Research Fellow