http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/ Engadget Comments for Government warns of wireless network congestion again, rides iPad to push its spectrum agenda http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/There was a article a couple day back about IPad for the technological challenge. Please report back on how successful was the task.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 5:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Where does TV fit into all this?

Because more and more of them are getting internet connections as well?]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 6:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 7:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/WritePad.]]>Feb 5th 2010 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 9th 2010 11:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Free TV or an iPad with a fast, functional browsing experience -- if it came down to it, i'd pick the free TV because there's no such thing as an iPad with a fast, functional browsing experience, TV on the other hand is free and in HD :) ]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Yeah, as much as I hate people pushing their agendas by riding on some popular news, I hope this works because I really want the broadband thing to happen. The day wireless internet access is as cheap and ubiquitous as TV has been, they day we can easily and cheaply have internet-connected car stereos and all kinds of other cool gadgets without some crazy monthly fees.

I really hope this happens.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
The fact is (my opinion, really) that TV sucks. It is an outdated mode of entertainment outstripped by other on-demand, interactive services. Plus, almost all the TV shows suck.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Hellooooo Big Brother!

Seriously though, it's bad enough internet traffic records can be subpoenaed easily by the gub'mint, but if they were actually providing said internet?? Insanity. It's not a matter of having "things to hide," it's the idea that there is nothing better to do than launch a nationally subsidized internet provider with the ability to cite you for excessive Twitter posts.
...

Actually...]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
@Engadget: How about posing a more realistic question:
"Would you rather keep granting wireless monopolies to bad actors that will just squeeze you for monopoly rents, or give the spectrum back to the people for free again, so we all can have better WiFi and wireless ISP competition?"

Google "Open Spectrum". Radio frequencies are just colors that humans can't see.
]]>Feb 5th 2010 1:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
And thank god I don't get to pick the actual five channels I watch, because I really like paying to support Telemundo. Arrrrrrribaaaaa!!!]]>Feb 5th 2010 2:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 5th 2010 2:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
"Safari can't open the page because it needs moar spectrum." LOL]]>Feb 4th 2010 6:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/1. lol im so glad you caught that, i searched the page for it and you seemed to be the only one who saw it.
2. I dont know what the overall solution would be, but with the rise in mobile devices (does that include iPad?) we will definitely need to examine the ways we distribute broadband more efficiently]]>Feb 4th 2010 7:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/I'd prefer something I can watch hulu on but hey, can't complain too much if it's free.]]>Feb 4th 2010 7:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Ding ding ding! We have a winner folks!

Over the air IPTV would be so awesome! I'd rather have faster internet access. Leave a little bandwidth for an emergency channel or two.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
yes. do that. now.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Maybe if it's over a new FREE wireless network. Otherwise, what good is free IPTV to someone who is used to watching free OTA TV but does not want or cannot afford an internet connection.

If this was to be used for free wireless internet access, I'd be ecstatic.]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
who would foot the bill to build and maintain a "free" wireless network? (taxes count as you paying for it)]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
You could easily setup the network/spectrum to allow EVERYBODY to connect for free, but charge for actual internet access. In other words, you could connect to the network and receive free IPTV channels (and possibly other limited free services, even ad supported internet?) but not have actual internet access unless you paid for it.

Over time, it would be much easier and cheaper to maintain than having separate OTA TV and WWAN networks using the same spectrum. ]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Who pays for OTA broadcasts currently? The local TV stations. Have the government create the infrastructure (they gave BILLIONS to ISPs and such to upgrade America's "broadband" a couple years ago and we're just now seeing the companies use that money for that specific purpose) and have the Stations run/maintain the networks themselves. Hell, even allow them to lease their spectrums to other companies (Google anyone?) to add extra services/features.

I don't think lack of money is an obstacle, I think it's more or less a problem with the companies fighting over who gets the PROFITS from such an upgrade/change. That's more political than technical. Hopefully the FCC can stop dragging their asses and start being creative! ]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Brilliant! We tech guys have already figured out the solution in about a day. Let's get our ideas to Congress!

Free IPTV when you join the network, just like now, and further internet access when you pay for it (kinda like signing into AT&T portals at Starbucks/ other random stores). Taxes are good for supporting it, but that would imply a governmental control of wireless internet. I'd rather play it safe and let the government set up the infrastructure (like they did for wired access) and then let the private companies take over.]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Free access to IPTV and charging access to internet seems acceptable to me. But how many channels do you allow? Technically, you could stream an unlimited number of channels over IPTV, but I don't think private ISPs would like that.

Then there is a question of capacity. Can IPTV support the same capacity as OTA television?

I think it would also be nice if users could get free access to any government website as well. This could allow the gov. to reduce paper billing and the sort as all people would have free access over the internet to such information. Anything other than that requires a fee.

But then that raises another question. Having free IPTV and pay internet access delivered over the same medium violates net neutrality, does it not? You're essentially walling off a set of paid services away from free services. I have that image of "Telco ADSL" internet "channel" packages where it's $5 to access search engine, $5 for kids sites, etc. That would destroy the internet that we know. Maybe it's better to just keep the mediums, digital TV and internet, separate.

]]>Feb 5th 2010 3:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Then why would you choose it over a nice functional TV?]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
I think your definition of "functional" is broken. Flash does not = "the internet".]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Just a big part of it.]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 6:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
Haha, the FCC! That reminds me of the Family Guy episode where they sing about the FCC. Let me just go on Hulu and check it out on my iPad. Oh wait...

:P]]>Feb 4th 2010 7:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
One example? Hulu? That's it? Is Hulu the ONLY site you go to? Note that YouTube has an HTML 5 site working now, most big sites have mobile versions that don't depend on flash, and there will very likely be a Hulu app for the iPhone OS so even that won't be a problem.

The issue is that now people are treating flash like it's the only way to access the internet, and that's only backlash because the iPad doesn't have flash. What about all the other devices that don't have flash? Where was all the complaining then?

Flash does not make or break your web browsing experience. If it did, we would have heard a lot more complaining about devices not having it before now. Everybody who's on the "omg no flash it's useless" bandwagon right now is simply overreacting to the iPad not having flash. That's it.]]>Feb 4th 2010 7:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
"What about all the other devices that don't have flash? Where was all the complaining then?"
Personally, I don't own all those other devices. All I can testify for is the iPhone. And honestly, not having Flash is annoying--no it doesn't make the iPhone unusable, but it is certainly annoying. There are tons and tons of websites out there that use Flash for their media players. Engadget for instance, has their own little Flash media player. So when I see an Engadget article that includes video, I won't be able to view it.

I shouldn't even compare the iPhone with the iPad though, since the iPad is attempting to provide a web viewing experience that equates that of a netbook, not a smartphone. And in this case, it is even more annoying to not have Flash. There is no reason why a device optimized for web viewing should limit me from using certain important elements of web pages.

And HTML 5 is not going to be the savior of this important issue in the short run. It's going to take a few years before everyone migrates to the new standard.]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/I suspect that the transition to HTML5 would take longer if Apple had flash on the iPhone.

With a significant part of the mobile browsing public unable to see Flash, web designers (and advertisers) will have more incentive to support non-flash browsers sooner.]]>Feb 4th 2010 9:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 4:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/
It'd be nice if companies would actually compete, instead of all raising their txt prices to the same price for example.

Take the recent drop in unlimited voice plans for example. The companies did this because one of them actually had the balls and necessity to compete. They could have done this at any time, the government wasn't preventing them from doing this, but they didn't have any real motivation to. Most carriers have a fat consumer base that they can easily live off of and as long as no one is making waves they are more than happy to not compete at all, screwing the consumer.

The consumer is also too complacent. We are comfortable paying $40 a month for 450 voice minutes, even though that's been the price for around the last decade. Even as technology has made those calls cheaper, we've seen little drop in price. ]]>Feb 4th 2010 5:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/Feb 4th 2010 5:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/government-warns-of-wireless-network-congestion-again-rides-ipa/I can't speak for everyone, but I myself prefer to watch my favorite shows "on demand" (from hulu or just downloading the torrent...whatever). I hardly ever watch actual live TV anymore, unless it's a sports game. But like everyone is saying, if we have the infrastructure in place, Live TV can be broadcast over IP. That's the beauty of TCP\IP, you can do almost anything with it. A TV signal on the other hand, well it can only be used for TV...so I think the choice is clear.]]>Feb 4th 2010 4:30PM