FCC confirms vote on data roaming, cell boosters April 7
updated 01:15 pm EDT, Fri March 18, 2011
FCC to vote on data roaming and boosters
The FCC late Thursday published an agenda for its April 7 meeting that confirmed plans to vote on data roaming. The agency will decide whether it should require cellular carriers and other mobile data providers to allow roaming on "commercially reasonable" terms within certain limits. A second core decision would determine whether or not to allow cell signal boosters.
Other topics would include an order to streamline cellular and landline upgrades on utility poles and determining whether current standards are enough to guarantee reliable data and voice.
An order requiring affordable data roaming could improve the competitiveness of smaller carriers but has also raised slippery slope arguments over FCC control. Sprint, T-Mobile and many regional carriers have argued that AT&T and Verizon often don't want to make deals or want to do so at high prices. AT&T and Verizon, meanwhile, have argued they already have deals and have raised the specter of roaming being used as a pretext for forcing "common carrier" rules on data and going beyond net neutrality rules.
Anonymously, either AT&T or Verizon has also argued that their smaller rivals were only pushing for a better deal on roaming through the government rather than fair competition.
Some carriers have also resisted cell boosters. The signal amplifiers allegedly trigger dropped calls or can interfere with geolocation from cell towers or GPS. Supporters, usually cellphone users in fringe areas or from the booster designers themselves, have pointed to successful tests in other countries as proof that they should be safe.
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FCC SUCKS!!!
The FCC IS NOT LOOKING OUT FOR THE CONSUMER!!!! They are looking out for the deep pockets that support politicians and for themselves! They FCC needs to open up so many frequencies that in Small Town USA there can be 10 local competitors, just like the Internet did in the early 90's. THATS WHAT MADE THE INTERNET IT IS TODAY!!! NOT Big Business. If I was to build a tower that allow for Cellular in my small town the FBI, CIA, FCC, State and Local Police would have me so locked up I wasn't be able to squeeze a lemon seed through be butt! Yet, all I would really doing is being competitive to ATT, Verizon, TMobile and Sprint... Heaven for bid competition to those four... RUN FOR YOUR LIFE is competition!!! F the FCC and start building mini-networks that interfere with the big four. Connect it to your car, so that you are on the move and causing havoc for the FCC and the only four competitors. Imagine a world where there was only WalMart, Target, KMart and Cost Co... you think, gee that's all there is now. And I reply with, "Ah, Ace Hardware, Bealls, Albertson, Walgreens, Lowes, Home Depot, IGA, Whole foods, Local Mom and Pop, etc., etc. etc. etc. etc. etc." Now imagine the Government moving in to closing down all but the top four, where would our economy be then!!! With competition, we employ more people, drive prices down, create more real estate sales, create more more more. BUT WHAT DOES THE FCC DO!!???? GET IN THE F'ING WAY!!!
The FCC needs to say, here are the standards and ANYONE can create a company along as they are within these standards, just like they did for Radio! I want ten mobile companies competing for my business, just like I had ten internet providers competing for my dial-up service!
Complain to your City, Local, County, State representatives about the FCC interfering with competition.