Staking a claim

An early draft of a proposed FCC rule appears to keep the keys to high-speed internet access in the hands of longtime gatekeepers, reports The Associated Press.

Speculation has been flying that the Federal Communications Commission may allow for part of the unused broadcast spectrum to be slated for high-speed access.

Companies, including Google, hoped to win the right to buy portions of the spectrum and then sell those portions off again.

But the current draft in consideration does not include key elements that would help tip the scales for the wholesalers' dreams.
FCC chief Kevin Martin came out some months ago in favor of the wholesale option. Several Democratic Senators are upset it didn't make it in to the new set of rules.

Martin says that while there's nothing explicitly authorizing a wholesale system, there's also nothing expressly forbidding it either.

The new portions of the broadcast spectrum are being freed by television stations making the switch to digital signals.