TV Airwaves To Deliver Internet?

roscoetoon directs our attention to a proposal from an odd assortment of tech companies — Google, Microsoft, H-P, Intel, and others — to reuse TV wavelengths to deliver first-mile connectivity. The Washington Post article is subtitled "Cable, Phone Companies Watch Warily." As well they might. One of the big content companies that the incumbent duopolists propose to soak by dismantling network neutrality, in company with some powerful allies, is striking back at the heart of their business.

Comments

Re:What???

[sumdumass]

If net nutrality is dismantled, Microsoft has some problems. This is more likley a CYA deal.

Microsoft has live and everything comming from there. PLus they have service packs and the such. Most people are satisfied with them on providing updates and service packs from the web. But if net nutrality goes out the door, they will be in a situation were they will have to pay for this too or suffer an angry mob of customers wanting to kow why they patch to fix the whole left in windows that jst caused the last virus infection they had to pay someone else to get rid of is taking as long as it would on dial up.

It just makes sence for them to make sure there is a way around it.

Re:What???

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Yeah right Sherlock. They've been very successful in the game console market and may actually beat out

Please reread my comment. I said financial failure. Maybe the xbox360 will beat out the PS3, but MS's games division hasn't made any money yet.

Hello?

[no1nose]

1999 called. They want their Geocast back... The idea of delivering internet via airwaves is so NOT new. It never got off the ground then, and it won't now. If you want wireless internet, get a $50 router or a $60/month Verizon aircard.

Done.

Not just no, but...

[sconeu]

HELL NO!!!!

This opens the door for the FCC to regulate content on the Internet.

Re:so

[Bluesman]

The path a TCP connection takes doesn't have to be the same going forward or backward. It doesn't even have to be the same path between multiple packets.

Since most people don't use nearly as much upload bandwidth as download, a dial-up upload with a very fast over the air download would be sufficient for the vast majority of users.

Many people in the U.S. are still on dial-up. If Google offered them a way to dramatically increase the speed of web page loads for an extra $2 a month, they'd probably take that option over the much more expensive DSL or Cable services.

Pretty smart move.

Re:What???

[JPriest]

AFAIK MS's games division was making money on PC games like Age of Empires before the creation of the Xbox. Also, when you have a monopoly, if you launch a product that helps to protect it could be considered a success even if it does not bring in a profit.

This is the reason WindowsCE is a success, it places a road block in the way of anyone wanting to assault the desktop by expanding from PDA to Laptop etc.

Nobody is going to write 30 million lines of code over night to compete with Windows, they have to find a niche like Cell phones, PDA's, and game consoles and try to leverage it. Xbox and WindowsCE are about taking the fight to them, if competition means the markets has lower or no profit margins, that could also be a good thing.

Re:What???

[aussie_a]

Screwing over the customers. At first blush this looks to be helping the customers. Definitely a departure.

Digital TV

[JackMeyhoff]

This is the very reason why Analogue TV is being cut and the change over to Digital to free up badly needed spectrum for such rich services.

Re:Aren't these already reserved?

[unitron]

I thought this area of bandwidth was supposed to be reserved for emergency services

So did I, until I noticed that the new digital television channels are using the same VHF and UHF frequencies that analog television does now.

I'm guessing that the non-revenue generating character of emergency services radio has a lot to do with this. There's no money with which to buy congresscritters.