Telcos Compete For Education Broadcast Spectrum

palegray.net writes "A consortium of large telecommunications companies are competing to deliver high speed wireless Internet access over frequencies allocated for educational use. The schools who control the frequencies, long frustrated by difficulties in obtaining cost-effective net access, find the tables turned in their favor. From the LA Times: '... technological advances have made the airwaves easier to use — and much more lucrative to hold. For Cal State Los Angeles, Long Beach, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton and Pomona, as well as schools and religious institutions around the country, holding a license to the spectrum as the wireless industry expands has been like finding a winning lottery ticket in a dresser drawer. The agreements funnel thousands and even millions of dollars annually to schools at a time of budget cutbacks and economic slowdown.'

Comments

Religious institutions ?

[BorgDrone]

(...) frequencies allocated for educational use. (...) as well as schools and religious institutions around the country That certain frequencies are allocated for educational purposes makes sense, but why do religious institutions have frequencies allocated to them ?

Re:Religious institutions ?

[Gavagai80]

God needs the spectrum to communicate his word.

Re:Religious institutions ?

[TheSHAD0W]

Would you rather have the mullah at the mosque two doors down yelling over a loudspeaker, or over a radio channel?

Re:Religious institutions ?

[bsDaemon]

Well, that I can understand... but what does God need with a star ship?

Re:Religious institutions ?

[BorgDrone]

A radio channel I get, but they are talking about tubeless intertubes.

Is a religious institution allowed to sell or sublet a frequency meant for non-commercial audio broadcasts to a company that uses it for a commercial intertubes service ?

Here in the Netherlands, a commercial radio license it incredibly expensive, there are cheaper licenses available for less main-stream radio programming (to enable a more diverse offering) but they come with a lot of requirements as to what you can use them for. A radio station that had a frequency for dance music got a huge fine a while back because they broadcast too much mainstream so they didn't comply with the license.

Furthermore, certain ranges are only for FM radio use, others are for telecom use, etc. You can't start a tubeless intertubes service even on a expensive commercial radio license.

I can imagine the FCC doing something similar.

Re:Religious institutions ?

[vertinox]

but why do religious institutions have frequencies allocated to them ?

Something to do with the words politics, campaign, and donations. Not in any particular order.

Re:Religious institutions ?

[TheSHAD0W]

The radio channels were allocated long before tubeless intertubes were considered.

Actually they were originally allocated for "distance learning", according to the article. But I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek.

Re:Religious institutions ?

[BorgDrone]

The radio channels were allocated long before tubeless intertubes were considered. Does that matter ? Usually a license says what you can use it for, not what you can't. So if tubeless intertubes isn't specifically mentioned as allowed in the license you can't use it for that.

But maybe this is different in the US.

Re:Religious institutions ?

[initialE]

Why compromise when you can have both?

Money, money...

[Frosty Piss]

So, are some of these schoole going to become money whores and sell out their rights? It's a serious question, folks. When money is involved, you know ethics fly out the door...

Re:Money, money...

[bloodninja]

So, are some of these schoole going to become money whores and sell out their rights? It's a serious question, folks. When money is involved, you know ethics fly out the door... I certainly hope the do turn into money whores, and that IS ethics. TFS implies that the telecos were not exactly helping the schools when they needed help, so why shouldn't the schools take advantage of the new situation?

Re:Money, money...

[Lense of Madness]

Yes, yes they are. My old school has a few electronic media degrees. Once upon a time, this meant we had a great radio broadcast program, and a frequency to go with it. The school had an actual broadcast studio on par with many of the local for profit stations in terms of equipment. They even had a separate recording studio set up for interviews and production material, or just so one person could be broadcasting live and others could still learn in the secondary studio. Now the school doesn't have that frequency. They weren't technically allowed to sell the frequency, because it was licensed for educational use, but they've rented it out for an unspecified number of years (the speculation is that its gone for at least 20 years). So yes, schools will whore out their frequencies, to the detriment of students.

Re:Money, money...

[davester666]

This is a 1-year 'solution'. School is given annual budget of X dollars and is given control of Y spectrum [essentially, some property for free]. School finally leases out Y for Z dollars.

Is there any budget decision-makers out there that don't make the following years calculation like this:

school budget = X - Z (+/-) some small percentage

A little more background please for non-USA folks?

[Fallen Andy]

Could someone post a link to more info re the allocations or fill us in on the background here?

(not in US)

Andy

Re:A little more background please for non-USA fol

[mikael]

Here's a link to the purpose of the education spectrum

In 1963, the frequency band 2500-2686 MHz was reserved to educational institutions for over-the-air transmission of instructional TV programs. Transmission was point-to-point, for example, campus-to-campus or campus-to-hospital for continuing education needs. Hence the name: Instructional Television, Fixed Service (ITFS). The power authorized (up to 100 watts) allowed transmit/receive separations of up to 30-40 miles.

Maybe this will fix....

[3seas]

....http://www.newsweek.com/id/138536

Re:Maybe this will fix....

[initialE]

Reading that article made me think. I believe that cluelessness is more tied to political control than to the internet btw.

Won't anyone think of the children?

[symbolset]

All schools should have redundant gigabit fiber. This should be provided by the telecommunications providers as a condition of their rights of way.

Anything less and we're not doing everything we can to compete.

Oh, and communications infrastructure is too important to leave to commercial enterprises. (see sig)

Religious Cults

[LM741N]

Are they going to get their own frequencies? Who determines what is a religion and what is not?

Re:Religious Cults

[ColdWetDog]

Who determines what is a religion and what is not?

Apparently, it's the Eternal Revenue Service.

God knows why...

New Jaguar for the principle!

[urcreepyneighbor]

The agreements funnel thousands and even millions of dollars annually to schools at a time of budget cutbacks and economic slowdown. Which will be pissed away on crap that has no bearing on the education of children.

Re:New Jaguar for the principle!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is for colleges, I go to the college next to the one in Pomona, I'd say the adults there arent childrent.

But yes, chances are, certain interests will ensure the money goes to the wrong things.

Pomona

[martin_b1sh0p]

Wow...never thought I'd see the day when my alma mater would make front page on Slashdot.

Sort of surprised.

[palegray.net]

This article generated under 100 comments. Is the number of people who care about this news really that small? Wow...