http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122809560499668087.html

Quote :

"Outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is pushing for action in December on a plan to offer free, pornography-free wireless Internet service to all Americans, despite objections from the wireless industry and some consumer groups. [Kevin Martin] Kevin Martin At its December meeting, the FCC could also consider new rules designed to speed up consideration of disputes between independent cable programmers and cable providers such as Time Warner Cable Inc. and Comcast Corp., which either refuse to carry some channels or put them on specialty tiers of service that cost subscribers more. The agency also will ask for more feedback on its proposal to require programmers to sell their channels to cable operators individually instead of in bundles. The free Internet plan is the most controversial issue the agency will tackle in December. Mr. Martin shelved plans to consider a wider variety of sticky issues pending at the agency, including a request by the Hollywood studios to hobble TVs and set-top boxes so studios can offer copy-protected theatrical releases sooner. The proposal to allow a no-smut, free wireless Internet service is part of a proposal to auction off a chunk of airwaves. The winning bidder would be required to set aside a quarter of the airwaves for a free Internet service. The winner could establish a paid service that would have a fast wireless Internet connection. The free service could be slower and would be required to filter out pornography and other material not suitable for children. The FCC's proposal mirrors a plan offered by M2Z Networks Inc., a start-up backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner John Doerr. Consumer advocates have objected to the FCC's proposed pornography filter, while the wireless industry has objected to the entire free Internet plan. To address concerns about the filter, the FCC is proposing that adults could opt out and access all Internet sites. T-Mobile USA, in particular, has raised concerns. The Deutsche Telekom AG unit paid about $4 billion a few years ago for nearby airwaves and has complained that the free wireless Internet plan will likely result in interference for consumers of its new 3G wireless network. The FCC dismissed the company's interference concerns this fall, although T-Mobile disagreed with that finding."

12/2/2008 12:27:09 PM

silly anti-porn people.

12/2/2008 12:31:39 PM

And just how in the hell do they propose to filter out ALL of the pron?

12/2/2008 12:41:32 PM

The fcc should stay the fuck out of content related disputes. They should be soley for enforcement of technical specifications and related laws.

12/2/2008 12:41:51 PM

this part made me LOL

Quote :

"Consumer advocates have objected to the FCC's proposed pornography filter, while the wireless industry has objected to the entire free Internet plan."

12/2/2008 2:20:43 PM

the fact that they think they can filter out all porn is ri-fucking-diculous

12/2/2008 3:00:39 PM

OH NOEZ THEY TAKIN MY PRON

12/2/2008 3:59:47 PM

i'm not OPPOSED to this idea, per se...providing "free" (as in, your taxes pay for it whether you want them to or not) wireless internet pretty much everywhere would be great...if they implemented a basic content filtering system like sonicwall, who cares? it would still let you do pretty much everything you'd have valid cause to do - like check your email, do your banking, pay your bills, etc.

of course, then you could argue that things for school or education or health or whatever, like "breast cancer" might be filtered due to content...in which case, it's encroaching upon valid uses that you're (technically) paying for with your tax dollars

but wouldn't something be better than nothing? you could always keep it the way it is, with paying for your intarweb...i'd be okay with them providing low-speed (like 1.5/512 or whatever) content-filtered intarweb for free...it's not like wireless internet is a right guaranteed by the constitution

12/2/2008 4:52:23 PM