THEY HAVE US COLD
Former FCC chairman Reed Hundt is earning his pay today as chairman of Frontline Wireless LLC, a new VC-backed company (Kleiner Perkins et al), that's focused on building a platform for next generation, wireless broadband network and services, after hopefully winning in some upcoming spectrum auctions.
As this Information Week piece explains:
"Comparing the newly released iPhone to a Ferrari forced to drive on dirt roads, former FCC chairman Reed Hundt today renewed his call for an nationwide open-access
wireless broadbandnetwork that is independent -- i.e., not under the control of the major wireless carriers.Speaking to reporters on a teleconference call, Hundt, who is co-founder and vice chairman of Frontline Wireless LLC, one of the companies planning to bid in the upcoming auction of 700MHz spectrum, said that the iPhone's huge popularity underscores the crying need for ubiquitous high-speed wireless coverage in the United States."
Great visual sound bite: "Ferrari forced to drive on dirt roads".
The article reminds us that the iPhone,
"...runs over AT&T's EDGE network, which is considered "2.5G" and offers data speeds of around 100-140 Kbit/s. The national network Frontline is proposing would offer speeds 12 times that fast, according to Hundt.
The iPhone's runaway success -- Apple sold 500,000 of the new mobile devices through Sunday evening, according to Piper Jaffray research -- leads to an inevitable "two-fold epiphany," Hundt added. "No. 1, oh my gosh, we need a 4G wireless broadband network in the U.S. No. 2, we need it to be national, and low price, and provide a choice."
Here was the money quote though, from Mr. Hundt:
"Pointing out that the iPhone works exclusively over AT&T's wireless network -- and that a mandatory two-year contract at $60 a month will end up costing more than three times the price of the device itself -- Hundt said, "No other consumer appliance in America comes bundled with mandatory service, at a price three times that of the device."
Having recently gone through choosing the "right" plan for my AT&T/Apple iPhone, it of course made me think of $600 refrigerators that came with different monthly plans to use the ice box.
You pay $60, $80 or a $100 a month for a minimum of 24 months in order to use the fridge.
Each tier limits how much you can stuff the fridge. (Of course foods that take longer to cool cost extra).
Oh, and you want to use the freezer section?
Well, you get 200 ice cubes a month with each of the three plans.
But you then have to decide in advance how many incremental ice cubes you'll need in a month. You get 1500 for an extra $10 a month. But $20/month more gets you unlimited ice cubes.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, SMS's are like a tray of ice-cubes, you never know how many you're going to really need.
Sign me up as a potential customer of Frontline Wireless.
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