From a purely engineering perspective we can calculate the optimal amount of interference for a particular band of spectrum. We want just enough to achieve coverage. Any more is simply a waste of power. It is that knowledge of a hypothetically perfect solution that leads us down the path of saying that spectrum should be auctioned off with the network built out by the winning bidder. That, and the idea of using the money generated from the auction to help with the budget deficit. Both of thes...

From a purely engineering perspective we can calculate the optimal amount of interference for a particular band of spectrum. We want just enough to achieve coverage. Any more is simply a waste of power. It is that knowledge of a hypothetically perfect solution that leads us down the path of saying that spectrum should be auctioned off with the network built out by the winning bidder. That, and the idea of using the money generated from the auction to help with the budget deficit. Both of thes...

On my West Coast trip last week I had wifi on my American Airlines flights both to and from SF. According to an article in the New York Times, by the end of 2009 the service will be available on 1,000 planes domestically and the target is 2,000 planes by end of 2010. I was struck by a few things:The article made no mention that a previous attempt to equip planes with wifi had failed with Boeing shutting down its Connexion division in 2006. At the time I was really surprised because it seemed ...

On my West Coast trip last week I had wifi on my American Airlines flights both to and from SF. According to an article in the New York Times, by the end of 2009 the service will be available on 1,000 planes domestically and the target is 2,000 planes by end of 2010. I was struck by a few things:The article made no mention that a previous attempt to equip planes with wifi had failed with Boeing shutting down its Connexion division in 2006. At the time I was really surprised because it seemed ...