By coincidence, the hotel hosting last week’s Wireless Communications Association conference was also home to a three-day rally of the ReDefeat Bush crowd. Meeting rooms of the two diverse meetings were practically next to each other.
The WCA show, while technologically and politically neutral, actually appeared to have something in common with the gathering of Bush-haters. There was passion, energy and an air of hope among WCA attendees, whose laser-focused goal is to prevent Bell telephone and cable TV giants from turning the broadband market into a classic duopoly. That’s where things are presently headed.
The strategy is to exploit wireless technology as a third credible platform for broadband. It has the backing of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Mike Powell, who would love to see more action in the high-speed Internet space in light of the utter failure of regulators, markets and courts to produce true residential telecom competition.
“Magical things happen in competitive markets when there are at least three viable, facilities-based competitors. And we are looking to wireless to help deliver that triple crown,” said Powell in prepared remarks for the WCA conference.
Magic is what the FCC will need to revamp the 2.5 GHz band and satisfy anxious wireless broadband firms, without incurring the wrath of U.S. educators. A lot is riding on the FCC ruling this Thursday. FCC commissioners don’t want to be cornered in their offices wearing dunce caps.
Magic is also what Craig McCaw brought to the WCA conference. His presence at the show, his vision for Clearwire and his money have the potential to transform the wireless broadband scene. With McCaw now officially in the game, wireless broadband is a bit more serious an enterprise than the antics of urban Wi-Fi cowboys might suggest. This is for real. This is serious. Verizon, SBC, BellSouth, Cox, Comcast and others will have to stand up and take notice of McCaw, if for no other reason than to contemplate how much they will have to pay him to go away at some future date. There is a history there, you know.
True, McCaw has been humbled in recent years by telecom business ventures gone awry. He no longer walks on water. But there is every reason to believe that McCaw, a student of history, has carefully examined what went wrong and why. The mistakes he made likely will not be repeated this time around. McCaw, whose reclusive nature is often highlighted, is practiced in self-deprecating humor. He says he’s not all that smart and cannot see things straight because of dyslexia.
Such is the stuff of the wireless industry’s greatest visionary.
