Hidden Costs Of The Wireless Broadband Lifestyle: Comparing Consumer Protections In The United States, Canada, And The European Union

Spurred by relatively inexpensive and widely available retail equipment and increased residential Internet penetration, consumer demand for more wireless broadband options continues at a rapid rate. Now, with consumers increasingly looking for mobile Internet interconnectivity over greater distances and with greater flexibility, technology companies are pushing the next generation of wireless broadband technologies with the promise of freeing consumers from location-based Internet access. These newer technologies can provide robust video and audio capabilities, such as digital television, on-demand video, and VoIP on a variety of digital devices. Yet, the rise of wireless broadband networks and the roll-out of new technologies pose new public policy and regulatory challenges for spectrum management.

If these issues are not addressed, rather than yielding ultimately beneficial private, public, and commercial uses of spectrum, the result could be detrimental frequency interference with negative impacts on equipment functionality, the integrity and reliability of networks, and the quality of service for spectrum-dependent commercial services.