Adelstein Fills FCC Vacancy
Filling the fifth, and until recently, vacant spot on the FCC is Jonathan Adelstein, a seven-year legislative aide to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and -- according to one source -- a champion of rural issues. "His many years of experience in telecommunications as a legislative assistant in the Congress, and especially his focus on rural issues, will be particularly valuable in his new job," said Herschel Abbott, BellSouth vice president of governmental affairs.
Adelstein joins the commission at a time when the federal agency is scheduled to make a number of critical decisions over the next few months that many observers say could shape the future of competition in the telecom industry. His term expires June 30.
WiFi
It seems even regulators want to see WiFi expand beyond wireless "hotspots" that have become poplar in the airports, coffee houses, businesses and homes across the U.S. and beyond. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and George Allen (R-Va.) plan to introduce broadband legislation in the 108th Congress that would require the FCC to make more spectrum available for WiFi. The Boxer-Allen bill also requires the FCC to develop guidelines for the expanded portion of spectrum allocated for WiFi devices to avoid congestion. The senators said WiFi is limited to a small portion of the spectrum, confining its development.
Boxer and Allen say the technology could expand broadband access in rural areas. Boxer says, "It will reinvigorate high-tech economic development in California and across the country, and it will help give people in both urban and rural communities new ways of accessing the Internet and new ways of taking advantages of opportunities in the new economy."
And More WiFi
There has been much discussion in the industry recently about the prospects for using WiFi as a tie in -- or even an addition to -- metropolitan area networks. As another indicator of that trend, wireless and wireline carriers are both talking about and launching new services relating to WiFi. Verizon Communications Inc. launched its WiFi offering in Boston. It will cost a business a one-time fee of about $4,200 to support 10 laptops and 10 desktop computers, a spokesperson says. Other network charges may apply. Verizon plans to offer the service in some other regions this year. They include Dallas; New York City; New Jersey; Philadelphia; Tampa, Fla.; Virginia; and Washington, D.C.
