IP: Spectrum Policy Makers shocked at 802.11 Card sales

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ultradevices com>
Organization: UltraDevices, Inc
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 00:07:59 -0700

Subject: Spectrum Policy Makers shocked at 802.11 Card sales

> From Kevin Werbach's Weblog (scroll down to the second half)

http://werbach.com/blog/2002/04/24.html
For the past day, I've been at a small workshop
on spectrum policy hosted by the Aspen
Institute.  Aspen regularly assembles key figures
from the government, private sector and
academia to frame emerging communications
and Internet policy issues.  This one was
interesting.  I was there to advocate open
spectrum and unlicensed wireless technologies,
like 802.11/WiFi.  It was heartening to see the
level of awareness about WiFi among the
lawyers, economists, lobbyists and
policy-makers.  They realize something
important is going on here.  Still, most of them
were shocked when I mentioned there are now
1.5 million WiFi cards being sold every month.

The conceptual shift remains difficult for many
people to make.  Thanks to advances in
technology, we don't necessarily need any
mechanism to assign wireless spectrum bands to
particular companies.  The "tragedy of the
commons" isn't inevitable if devices are smart
enough to coexist with one another.  WiFi is
taking off in large part because equipment
vendors and users don't need to go to a service
provider for permission to set up networks.  They
just do it.  
-- 
Robert J. Berger
UltraDevices, Inc.
257 Castro Street, Suite 223 Mt. View CA. 94041
Email: rberger () ultradevices com http://www.ultradevices.com
Voice: 650-237-0334 Fax: 408-490-2868


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