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FCC Aims To End Debate With Wireless Tests

Posted by kdawson on from the can-you-hear-me-n— dept.

narramissic writes "Engineers from T-Mobile, AT&T, M2Z Networks, Nokia, Metro PCS, CTIA and XM Sirius have convened at a Boeing facility in Seattle this week to watch as the FCC performs tests it hopes will quiet debate over a proposed spectrum auction. At issue is the FCC's requirement that the winner offer free wireless broadband services in a portion of the spectrum, a move the wireless industry contends will lead to interference for 3G phone users. The FCC is conducting some of the same tests that T-Mobile, one of the more vocal opponents of the FCC plan, has already done plus some additional tests, focusing on interference between handsets running on the different frequencies. Some of the tests involve using handsets connected to WiMax or UMTS networks running on spectrum the commercial providers would use, and then issuing signals using the proposed new service and spectrum, to determine at what signal strength the proposed service causes the WiMax or UMTS call to drop."

5 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Ooooookay by pilgrim23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey the FCC is from the Governemnt! I am SURE they are here to help us.

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    - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
  2. geeky... by B5_geek · · Score: 4, Funny

    I know I'm a geek when i get excited thinking about the Faraday cage they use during these tests! Wow, big enough for an AIRPLANE! I am jealous too, I can admit that.

    --
    "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
  3. Re:Newsworthiness by Comboman · · Score: 3, Funny
    The newsworthy part is that the FCC appears to be doing its job.

    I thought their job was to prevent American children from seeing Janet Jackson's nipple? Why are they doing all this technical engineering stuff?

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    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
  4. Oh, Great... by rickb928 · · Score: 2, Funny

    'Free wireless Internet'.

    I'm thinking Citizens Band Internet.

    This will be fun.

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    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  5. Re:Why do we need phone companies? by mweather · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can get around that by wearing a tin foil hat.