TELECOMMUNICATIONS


FCC Blesses New Wireless Technology

By RYAN J. FOLEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission approved rules to promote a new wireless technology backed by Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. that can handle large amounts of information at high speed.
Regulators also said progress was being made toward agreement on new rules to make online trading of pirated movies more difficult.
The new wireless technology, considered the wireless equivalent of fiber-optic cables, will fill gaps in current fiber-optic networks in rural areas and inner cities where the cost of digging to lay cables inhibits growth. Companies also could use the technology to compete against traditional offerings of high-speed Internet service through cable modems and over phone lines.
The FCC said it would begin issuing licenses for the highest frequency bands on the communications spectrum that it has opened, bands originally reserved for government use. "The highly advanced technology used here may encourage a broad range of new products and services," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said.
The new technology will "allow for more choices of broadband providers than those narrow choices available to consumers and busineses today," said Commissioner Michael J. Copps.
Microsoft, Cisco and others had urged opening the spectrum, arguing that the U.S. was falling behind other countries in the deployment of broadband and that consumers needed more choices. Loea Communications Corp. of Lihue, Hawaii, developed the technology -- which in tests downloaded full-length movies in 10 seconds -- and requested access to the spectrum.
In a separate action Thursday, the FCC opened more spectrum for other broadband and wireless services referred to as third-generation applications. They include phones that offer fast Internet connections, can send video and can play audio files and videogames. The additional 90 MHz will be assigned by competitive bidding. Initial licenses will last 15 years.
Meanwhile, officials said that a consensus is emerging among commissioners to pass to a "broadcast flag" rule backed by the entertainment industry that would help limit digital piracy. By the end of the month, the agency expects to pass a rule attempting to stop distribution of unauthorized videos by making computers copy files in a way that would signal they shouldn't be passed on to others.
The rule is expected to be opposed by the manufacturers of personal-electronics devices, which would have to develop technology to read the flag in digital television signals. Each broadcaster could choose whether to add the antipirating code to its programs. The FCC also noted that consumers wouldn't have to purchase new equipment under the rule.
Write to Ryan J. Foley at ryan.foley@dowjones.com1