Will the three Big Ones, save the internet for all of us ??
Analysts are speculating that Internet and media companies could team up to bid for radio spectrum in order to launch wireless broadband services, as a way around the phone companies.
Rumors that nontelecom companies could bid for wireless spectrum have floated around for a few years. The new speculation focuses on large Internet content firms such as Google, (GOOG) Amazon.com, (AMZN) and eBay. (EBAY)
Fueling the talk is a regulatory battle — the network neutrality issue — pitting Internet firms against phone companies AT&T, (T) Verizon Communications, (VZ) and BellSouth. (BLS)
Phone companies want to charge Internet firms for moving movies, video games, music and other bandwidth-hungry content over their networks. This is aside from the subscription fees they charge broadband subscribers.
Under their plan, Internet firms would pay extra to transmit content via faster and more secure lanes on the Internet highway.
Internet firms object. They want lawmakers and regulators to guarantee network neutrality. That means all Internet traffic would be treated the same, and that phone company customers couldn’t get special treatment over others. [ link ]
