It's official. FCC boss Kevin Martin wants a free US-wide wireless broadband network. And he wants it equipped with "family-friendly" content filters.
On Friday, as expected, the US Federal Communications Commission formally unveiled (PDF) a free wireless plan for a portion of the American airwaves known as the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band. Under the plan, the commission would auction off the spectrum between 2155- and 2180-MHz on the US dial, and the winning bidder would have no choice but to plant a free network on up to 25 per cent of that 25-MHz.
This network would offer open-access to any application and any device. It would provide download speeds of at least 768kbps. And it would include some sort of "network-based filtering mechanism...in order to protect children and families."
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