Larry Yunker wrote:
John,
I'm certainly not arguing against WISP compliance with the reporting
requirement. Rather, I'm trying to clarify WISPA's interest in
identifying
WISPs across the nation.
Where have we asked to "identify" WISPs at all? I am not looking to
"identify" WISPs. I do get asked all the time by regulators,
legislators, press, investors, etc. how many WISPs there are and how
much of the US we serve. I cannot give a qualified answer. Nobody can
because many WISPs won't file their 477s. How can I answer this question
when people will not stand and be counted?
It sounds to me that you are looking at this from
the prospective of a lobbying effort. If we can show more WISPs then
we can
show more need and thus can obtain more ... (spectrum, assistance,
allowances, etc.) These are seem to be legitimate reasons
It is 100% why I am pushing for WISPs to comply. That and it is the law
of the land for US WISPs.
If WISPA can identify WISPs across the nation, then how can WISPA
convince
WISPs to self-report?
All we can do is try to promote the importance of filling out these
reports. After that it is up to the WISP themselves to decide. It is out
of my hands beyond that.
Is WISPA planning to use strong-arm tactics (report
or we'll report you) or is WISPA hoping to just inform WISPs of their
federal obligations and hope for the best?
I have never pushed for strong-arm anything and will not start now. This
would be a serious step over the line of trying to build the large
representative scale we want to see in WISPA. We are not the police. We
are a group of operators and others who want to help promote and improve
the industry. That is straight from the by-laws.
The FCC can use a spectrum analyzer and drive around for one hour and
find a WISP who wants to hide his head in the sand. It is not like they
are invisible. As one of the FCC reps said in our last meeting, "We
could bust a couple of them and the rest will fall in line"
(paraphrasing a bit). I do not think WISPA will be any more effective
than what the FCC could be with a couple of site visits. That is really
up to them. They certainly have the resources to do that. They have
several thousand times more resources and power at their disposal than
WISPA does to handle this issue. If it is important enough to them then
they can get WISPs to fall in line. The ironic thing is that WISPs are
truly only hurting themselves if they think they can ignore this
requirement. I doubt the FCC will push for compliance and then WISPs
will become less and less represented in future legislation and policy
because of their own lack of interest in letting the government know
what impact they are making in delivering broadband. I am open for
suggestions for ways to get the word out. Strong arm is not really an
option though. I still see this as a free country and strong-arm
anything is not really part of my makeup.
Is there some other method that
would lead to greater compliance without making WISPA look a private
attorney-general?
We can only act as leaders by example in my opinion. I like to think
that most of the time that people in this industry look to WISPA and our
members as those who represent the best interests of our industry. We
want to see our customers numbers represented more accurately in order
to gain more justification for spectrum and policy reform for our
industry. If we cannot prove we are serving the public interest then we
cannot expect the public to represent our interests. FCC Form 477 is the
most important tool we have in proving we are serving the public good.
If you have an idea then please share it. I think we have been very
vocal that this form is important to the future representation of our
interests in D.C. If WISPs do not act on this they are hurting
themselves. I do not think anything else could be presented to a WISP
which would make this point any more clear.
Scriv
Larry Yunker
----- Original Message ----- From: "John Scrivner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 3:14 PM
Subject: Re: [WISPA] wisp survey
The FCC has given some unlicensed spectrum, in part, to help make
lower cost access and more access to broadband available in the US.
Future access to more of this unlicensed spectrum will require some
accountability by the FCC that unlicensed spectrum is helping to
serve that purpose. By not filing we show less impact toward filling
the "digital divide" and we are indirectly helping to justify
criticism by others that unlicensed spectrum is not effectively
serving the public interest in regard to broadband availability.
Filling out the forms would help us to ask for and receive more
spectrum and policy relief when needed in order to continue to
advance the public interests of more access and lower cost access to
broadband in the US. As of now Form 477 results show WISPs as
serving less than 1% of the public with broadband. This is
artificially low due to non-compliance by WISPs to fill out their
forms.
How can the FCC justify helping WISP interests if we cannot even
show what we are doing to deliver broadband using the spectrum we
have been given? How would the FCC helping us, in turn, help the
public interest if there is no accountability that we are helping to
serve the public interest? They (the FCC) are absolutely justified
in their desire to see more WISPs fill out these forms and we should
be complying with this. It is not a "big brother" issue at all. Form
477 is there to justify our representation in policy initiatives
that we need to survive.
One other issue is that it is a matter of the law. We are required
to comply.
Scriv
Larry Yunker wrote:
Marlon,
I understand that the vast majority of WISPs have chosen not to
file the 477 form (or in the alternative they just don't know that
they are supposed to file).
Just out of curiousity, what do you hope to accomplish by locating
the thousands of non-compliant WISPs? Are you hoping to use this
as-of-yet unidentified mass to evidence the difficulty of meeting
the standard, or are you hoping to convince those non-compliant
WISPs to join WISPA in its efforts to develop a workable standard?
or are you just hoping to prove out the estimates that you have
already provided to the FCC? Or is there some other driving force?
Larry Yunker
----- Original Message ----- From: "Marlon K. Schafer"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Principal WISPA Member List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 10:43 AM
Subject: [WISPA] wisp survey
Hi All,
OK, we're not going to get most wisps to fill out the 477 any time
soon. At least it's historically looking that way.
2 years ago I brow beat the major vendors and manufacturers into
giving me the number of wisps that they show on the books and/or
radios sold into the US market in the last 4 years.
That effort lead to the belief that there are a genuine
uncontestable 3000 wisps in this country with a minimum of
1,000,000 subscribers. Numbers that the FCC folks still use today
as being more accurate than the 477.
Does anyone know of a research group that we could hire to repeat
my efforts in the past. Something that might be more effective
yet? There has to be a better way to do this than the 477.
Any ideas on the costs to do this project? Should we even put any
effort into it?
Could this be done by a group of scholars at a college?
Looking back on the data that I'd gotten at the time and how I
calculated things, I think that the real number of wisps was
likely closer to 6000. Today my gut tells me that that number is
up by 25ish % and that the customers serviced is likely at least
double what it was back in late 2004. I know MY customer base has
more than doubled since that time.
thoughts?
marlon
--
WISPA Wireless List: [email protected]
Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
--
WISPA Wireless List: [email protected]
Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
--
WISPA Wireless List: [email protected]
Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
