The Singer's Song

Intel ranks Pomona College the 82nd “most unwired college campus” in the nation, with a network reaching Marston quad, Walker and Wig beaches, and Haldeman pool, among other areas. Yet despite the fact that Pomona spans less than a quarter of a square mile, the wireless internet is not available throughout most areas of the campus.

Pomona’s wireless network, like most used in coffee bars, offices, and homes across the world, runs on the IEEE 802.11 standard. “Wi-Fi,” as it is more commonly known, is the most widely-implemented wireless protocol in the world – Apple and Intel use it, for instance – so most students are easily able to connect to the network. Wi-Fi has drawbacks, though, including the fact that its 2.4 GHz signal is often crowded out by microwaves and cordless phones. More importantly, most wireless routers have a maximum range of three hundred feet outdoors, and about half of that inside. As a result, dozens of towers would be required around the campus for complete, yet at times unreliable, coverage.

Government regulation is the only factor limiting wireless internet broadcasts to 2.4 GHz. Other spectra – like VHF or FM – are more suitable for transmission of the signal, but they are currently designated by Congress for other uses – namely television and radio. This is not the first time that technological innovation has been stifled by spectrum wars. During the 1940s, broadcasters – not wanting to give up their frequencies – successfully blocked an effort by AT&T to develop a precursor to the cell phone.

The current fight is playing out similarly. Following passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the television broadcast stations – the local affiliates of ABC, CBS, etc. – were given a portion of unused spectrum for HDTV at an estimated value of between $12 billion and $70 billion. In return, the stations pledged to give back their VHF signals. After ten years, these broadcasters have failed to live up to their promise, depriving the public of a spectrum that could be reallocated for efficient, long range wireless internet.

In three weeks, Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) will introduce legislation mandating the return of the VHF spectrum by December 31, 2006. The bill’s chances at passage are unclear. In the past, Congress has largely refrained from challenging the broadcasters on this issue. Media conglomerates are among the most prolific donors to campaigns. Besides, without the network news reporting on the issue (talk about corporate bias), the public is ill-informed about their bamboozling at the hands of the local broadcasters.

Intel has invested heavily in a lobbying effort to convince Congress to support legislation similar to Barton’s, and the cable industry – hoping to undercut the power of local broadcasters – is also supportive of the measure. Still, at the soonest, it will be another two years until the wireless internet is transmitted on frequencies currently used by VHF. So if Pomona wants to move up in Intel’s “unwired” rankings more rapidly, it will simply have to buck up and buy a few dozen routers.