Frontline’s exit doesn’t mean the end of open access—only tha...
Frontline’s exit doesn’t mean the end of open access -- only that Reed Hundt’s company failed to sell it to investors, VoIP blogger and Comunicano CEO Andy Abramson said in an interview. The “idea is too good” for someone…
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not to step in, he said. Towerstream and other upstarts recognize “there is money to be made” and are strong contenders, he said. Open-access advocate Google will also be bidding to win in the auction, Abramson predicted. The search company owns fiber and wants to “make good of it,” he said. The tech industry wants an open wireless platform, Abramson said. Smaller device and software developers have had “limited access” to wireless, he said, and carriers’ tight control of networks has “stifled development.” Developers are interested in wireless but there are “too many impediments,” he said. Open access would “encourage new ideas.” Abramson isn’t making bets on whether Verizon’s Any Device, Any Apps effort will be the open platform developers that want, he said. “Verizon will do what it wants to do.” The “new guard” at Verizon probably pitched the idea to help the company keep up with Google, he said. But the “old guard runs the show.” Uncertainty surrounds the auction, Abramson said. His suggestion: “wait and hope it doesn’t turn into another 3G fiasco.”