On October 11, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology released a technical report that concluded that two-way broadband service in the "AWS-3" spectrum will not cause harmful interference to wireless services of other carriers, including Germany's T-Mobile and AT&T, two of the world's largest monopoly phone companies and the most vocal opponents to the FCC's Lifeline Broadband proposal.

The FCC originally was slated to complete this proceeding this past June ahead of its promise to Congress to issue final rules by August 11, 2008 but delayed the proceeding due to the demands by T-Mobile, AT&T and other incumbent wireless companies for the FCC to conduct interference analysis.

Friday's FCC's report and its findings are consistent with the FCC's previous findings in the 700 MHz band and the 2.5 GHz band that are designated for wireless broadband services. The FCC's report is also consistent with the findings of other progressive international regulators such as the United Kingdom's Ofcom who issued a similar finding earlier this year.

As a result of this report, the FCC's proposal for a free "lifeline" broadband service has passed the final hurdle and can now become the cornerstone of comprehensive U.S. national broadband strategy as well as a privately financed way of addressing the intractable broadband gap in the U.S. where nearly 50% of households do not have access to broadband.

"These technical findings support the use of this long fallow spectrum for broadband and puts to rest the false technical arguments that were thrown in at the last minute in order to thwart competition," said John Muleta, CEO and founder of M2Z Networks. "All of the policy and technical benchmarks have now been met and all that is needed is an affirmative vote by the FCC Commissioners so that this spectrum can be auctioned and be put into productive use as quickly as possible. The need for more affordable broadband is clear and the time to act is now. American consumers and the public interest should not be held hostage another month or even another day to phone company lobbyists that are now calling for even more delay."

The FCC's pending AWS-3 rules would require the auction winner of spectrum to provide free lifeline wireless broadband to 50% of the population in four years and 95 percent of the U.S. within 10 years. The economic benefits of putting in place a nationwide lifeline broadband program are significant. According to the Congressional Research Service, Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs at 4-5 (Jan. 25, 2008), ubiquitous broadband adoption "would result in a cumulative increase in gross domestic product of $179.7 billion, while sustaining an additional 61,000 jobs per year over the next nineteen years" - a total of 1.2 million additional jobs in a single generation.

According to a Connected Nation study, The Economic Impact of Stimulating Broadband Nationally (February 21, 2008), a small 7% increase in broadband adoption in the U.S. would lead to a massive $134 billion per year in total direct economic impact. Given the current economic crisis, the need for affordable and widely available broadband to stimulate the economy could not be greater:

Prices for broadband in the U.S. are among the highest in the world (the U.S. ranks 24th in the world, just behind Estonia).

Most of the 114 million adults in the U.S. who either lack Internet access altogether or rely on dialup connections come from low-income households, or live in rural or inner-city settings where existing providers refuse to serve.

The "broadband divide" is greater for students from households that make less than $20,000 a year, who are much less likely to have Internet access.

Only 35% of small and independent businesses have company websites and only 59% use the Internet for business related activities.

Keywords: wireless broadband network, m2z networks inc, federal communications commission, harmful interference, t mobile, lifeline, october 11, fcc, spectrum, germany, Spectrum Analysis

By Robert Hoskins

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