C-SPAN Wireless ISP Nuggets

I was watching C-SPAN tonight, and they were showing a Senate Commerce Committee hearing from July of this year on the DTV transition.  Two of the witnesses testifying were Gene Kimmelman from Consumer's Union, and Michael Calabrese from the New America Foundation (NAF).  As a TV watcher, I could care less about how I watch what the big broadcasters put out, it's mostly dreck in my opinon. The only thing I really pay attention to on TV is hockey, which most people think is dreck. So, we're even, me and most people.

As a wireless ISP and broadband consumer, however, I was intently listening to, and passionate about their plea to the Commerce Committee to keep some of that analog TV spectrum in the 700 MHz range open for unlicensed communications, so that we could get a real third pipe into the home, ( and the car ) and have that pipe be accessible by small entrepreneurs like myself, instead of it being totally controlled by super-deep pocketed spectrum buyers.  The Wireless Future program at NAF looks like a good vehicle for making that happen.  I am not optimistic that it will happen, because our governments at most levels seem to be purchased by the large corporations that operate in this country, and I'm sure that they don't want this particular door to open.