Verizon Definitely Doesn't Fly Off the Handle in Any Way.

Hello World, I'm Josh King, Network Engineer at Acorn Active Media Foundation (http://www.acornactivemedia.com) and the Champaign-Urbana Wireless Internet Foundation (http://www.cuwin.net). Sascha asked me to contribute to this blog, so here goes with my first post.

I doubt it will be surprising to anyone used to dealing with big telecom companies, but Verizon is doing its level best to screw consumers when it comes to the 700 MHz spectrum auction. If you're following the auction, then you probably know that the process of deciding what to do with this precious section of radio spectrum is very contentious. Google, that organization I always hold a cautious liking for, has successfully introduced what they term an "open network" requirement into the terms of the auction. As Sascha detailed in an earlier post, this introduces an obligation to make sure that any devices utilizing this spectrum will be able to roam freely across networks without vendor lock-in. Of course Verizon can't be having with that, so on September 10th they filed suit against the FCC. From the request for judicial review:

"Verizon Wireless seeks judicial review on the grounds that the [700 MHz spectrum auction requirements] exceeds the Commission's authority under the Communications Act of 1934 [...] violates the United States Constitution, violates the Administrative Procedure Act [...] and is arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence and otherwise contrary to law."

I am not a telecommunications lawyer, so I couldn't speak to whether the FCC's actions could be construed as a violation of the Communications Act of 1934. Legal basis or no, I think we can obviously see where Verizon's interests lie vis-a-vis the consumers (i.e. bilking them). I know I would better respect a company or individual doing something procedurally incorrect for morally right reasons than doing something legally justifiable for motivations of greed.