Big News on Congress's iPhone Hearings

http://wwwOpenleft.com presents lobbyist Ben Scott of Freepress/SaveTheInternet.com. Ben discusses the outcome of yesterday's Congressional hearing on the iPhone and an upcoming auction of spectrum by the FCC. The future of the internet is at stake, and we're beginning to see what it means in AT&T's restrictive conditions on your use and purchase of the iPhone. Congressman Dingell, Markey, and Pickering have made big news this past week.

Take action at http://www.SaveTheInternet.com/airwaves

Learn more at http://www.openleft.com

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• iphone
• net
• neutrality
• openleft

[TheDubVee]

Apple signed a contract with AT&T just like you sign the contract to use their service that's their decision i personally think it's stupid on Apple's part but it's their choice the Constitution provides them Verizon could have done the same thing

[TheYouuTubeRipper]

AT&T? Who's that? We don't have any crappy stuff like that here in Australia. I can go to any company I want. I'm not locked into anything (except paying my bill).

[condorpowa]

18 - F - Cali - Alone - Anyone wanna chat? e

[SirFinklebottom]

wow, congress actually doing their job!!!

[feistygeek]

(continued) It makes sense to go with GSM/3G, as it's used in most countries, but Verizon and Sprint will fight hard to keep using their existing networks. Until a standard is adopted, it will be impossible to use an AT&T phone on the Verizon network, or vice versa. We need a unified standard first, and I'm sorry to say that I don't see this happening anytime soon.

[feistygeek]

(continued) Most of the rest of the world (all industrial countries excluding South Korea and the US) use GSM/3G, but Verizon, Sprint, Cricket and other carriers use CDMA technology. T-Mobile and Cingular/ATT use GSM/3G. In order for customers to have real choice, we need to choose one platform, and that will mean that companies that have invested in other platforms will lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

[feistygeek]

as someone who has worked in the wireless industry, one of my concerns on this issue is that if the US were to allow customers to carry their phones between service providers, we would need to adopt a wireless communications standard. Most wireless carriers use either CDMA/CDMA2000 or TDMA/GSM/3G technologies.

[likwidoxigen]

I really agree with the message but for the F*ing love of g-d it's a backslash not a forward slash. If the top of the slash points to the right it's a forward slash if the top points to the left it's a back slash.

Imagine that you were standing with your noes and toes touching the that line, when you're leaning forward it's a forward slash and when you're leaning backward it's a backslash.

[bchristie]

Great video - explains the issues well. In addition to this, M2Z - m2znetworks(dot)com is working to bring a "third pipe" to consumers through their proposed free, wireless, broadband, network. To bring more choice into the marketplace, we should support them as well.

[sagecast]

The iPhone should be a call to arms for making the new mobile internet better. The two pillars of a healthy market are the ability use our gadgets across all networks, and 2. a truly competitive market for wireless services -- through real "open access" wholesaling. Shackling iPhone to AT&T isn't the solution.