Free Nationwide Wireless

A company called M2Z has made an interesting proposal to the government. In exchange for 20Mhz of UHF spectrum, they'll provide free Internet using WiMax technology at 384/128 for 95% of the U.S. - they'll charge for higher speeds and other services. And, they'll pay the government a 5% royalty. This isn't some pie-in-the-sky scheme. This is a well thought out plan with some heavy duty backers. Of course all the existing telcos and cellular providers will attempt to buy as many congresscritters as they can in an attempt to kill it.

CLEC - Technical - DSL Prime: Free Nationwide Wireless: "'M2Z's goal is … provide free high speed connections to 95 percent of U.S. consumers without any recurring fees. This is a grand undertaking.'
—M2Z FCC request

Kleiner Perkins, history's most successful venture capital firm, is backing John Muleta and Milo Medin's offer to unwire the entire United States. 384/128 will be free while they'll sell higher speeds, ads, voice and much else. In return for 20 megahertz of spectrum, M2Z will pay a 5 percent royalty to the U.S. We give 19 megahertz to a TV network that mostly plays infomercials, so this is a no-brainer. 'Affordable broadband for all Americans,' anyone."

The entire FCC filing can be read at http://www.dslprime.com/a/M2Z.pdf