Soccor Moms Loose
Sparks were flying at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Spectrum Summit, last week in Washington DC. The radio frequency spectrum held by the military and government agencies is now hotly contested by commercial telecommunications carriers and public service agencies. Both want a piece of the $10 Billion spectrum. Nancy Jesuale, director of communications services for City of Portland pleaded for, “burning babies rather than soccer moms.”
Meanwhile, the City of Bellevue, WA, announced that they are working with Compaq, Infowave Software, AT&T Wireless, and Sierra Wireless, to provide wireless communications that will allow city employees to connect to mission critical applications, the city intranet and email. One of the most comprehensive wireless deployments in any U.S. city, Bellevue has already outfitted employees with iPAQs and notebooks with built-in Multiport modules using a Sierra Wireless AirCard 300, along with wireless services from AT&T Wireless and select databases through Infowave’s Wireless Business Engine.
Come on, people, can’t we all get along? The Mobile Internet might have government/public service use the ITS 5.9Ghz band for high-speed “hot spots” (that’s what it’s for) while GPRS could cover mobile data access.
That’ll be $50,000.
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