Spectrum Dinosaurs at the FCC

[Commentary] The disconnect between technology and Washington is as vast as the gap between rotary phones and the latest iPad. First there was the clumsy SOPA legislation against online copyright piracy, killed by objections from Web companies and users. The latest disconnect is over whether Washington can free up enough bandwidth to keep smart phones and tablets running.

It's time for the Federal Communications Commission to go back to the basic lesson that Prof. Coase taught. His now-famous Coase Theorem says that without regulatory interference or high transaction costs, valuable resources will flow to their most valued use. The ownership of broadband needs to be determined by markets as quickly as technology changes, not as slowly as Washington decides who deserves to be a winner and who should be a loser.