Content Providers Want Their Own Network; If Only It Were That Easy

from the it's-tuesday,-let's-make-stuff-up dept

The ongoing chatter about network neutrality apparently has got media companies and content providers so riled up that they're going to bid on wireless spectrum (via PaidContent)in upcoming FCC auctions, a highly speculative article in Investor's Business Daily says. It's hard to see any real logic here, as all the high cost of spectrum affords is the opportunity to spend even more large sums of money building out a network. Besides, weren't all these companies supposed to build their own WiMAX networks with unlicensed spectrum anyway? The media bought into that line of hype without questioning it, and it doesn't sound like too many questions are being asked by this latest story, either. Media companies' attempts at wireless services have been marked by failure, and like DirecTV is discovering, building out a nationwide wireless network isn't an easy -- nor cheap -- task. It's also hardly an attractive option when mobile operators are so willing to wholesale airtime on their own networks.

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