The tension must be palpable in the lobbies of Capitol Hill. Just as Verizon was pleading its closed network case to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Open Internet Coalition took a whole band of experts to House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
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Verizon was complaining about the so-called "
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Their main point was that wireless carriers have been acting in anticompetitive ways for some time now, with all four major companies limiting which networks phones can be used, disallowing third-party applications, and implementing high fees for contract termination. Opening up spectrum to competition, they argue, would help catch the US with the rest of the world in terms of mobile phone innovation and device capability.
What they, along with Google and Frontline, are pushing for is the right for consumers to attach any device to the wireless network that doesn't harm the network. Their argument is largely based on the FCC's landmark 1968 Carterfone decision, that paved the way for things like answering machines, caller ID, and modems to be connected to AT&T's network.
Back when Lily Tomlin made the satirical slogan "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." famous, opening up AT&T's network was a major step forward in telephone innovation.
One snag, as noted by
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Internet Group Argues Open Wireless Networks
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