August 2009 -- The Federal Communications Commission established the provisions for unlicensed
operations of intentional radiators or transmitters for commutations in what was called the
industrial scientific and medical bands. This was a significant change in mindset for the FCC
and this case study is meant to show an example of how unlicensed devices have
contributed to the community ‘‘good’’.
Background: The internet became a major economic entity and an essential tool for commerce in the mid
to late 1990s. With that, the digital divide was identified as a significant issue by 1996[1].
Typically the digital divide has been the result of cost of the equipment to use the internet,
such as computers, as well as the cost or lack of access in connecting to the Internet. Many
efforts by local community groups and governments have been made to attack the issue but
one problem that they all encountered was addressing the ‘‘last mile’’ to connect the
disenfranchised.
Two groups of companies were prepared to jump in and address the need for broadband to
the home. These were companies that already had built out wired infrastructure such as
voice grade copper that the incumbent Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) had
installed and maintained for the last 100 years under a guaranteed profit of the AT&T monopoly or so or the guaranteed profit of a local franchise cable company that had
deployed uni-directional coaxial cable for television distribution.
Citation
"Has "Unlicensed" in Part 15 Worked? A Case Study" by Tim Pozar, 5 INFO 86-91 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
Related Scholarship
"Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference: Guest Editorial" by Charles L. Jackson, 5 INFO (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Unlicensed to Kill: A Brief History of the FCC Part 15 Rules" by Kenneth R. Carter, 5 INFO 8-18 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Mark Fowler's Introduction of Mike Marcus" by Mark S. Fowler (April 2008), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: The Path from Carter and Reagan-era Faith
in Deregulation to Widespread Products Impacting Our World" by Michael J. Marcus, 5 INFO 19-35 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Unlicensed: The Case of Wi-Fi" by Ing Victor Hayes & Ir. Wolter Lemstra, 5 INFO 57-71 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Grazing on the Commons: The Emergence of Part 15" by Henry Goldberg, 5 INFO 72-75 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Has "Unlicensed" in Part 15 Worked? A Case Study" by Tim Pozar, 5 INFO 86-91 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
