T-Mobile Appeals To FCC To Rethink 'Free Internet' Proposal

T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, flew in its chief technical officer Thursday to plead with the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider an airwave sale in which the winning bidders would have to offer free Internet. T-Mobile is among the most vocal of the companies opposing FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal that firms buying the channels should devote at least 25% to free Internet access for 95% of the country. Other major companies such as AT&T, Texas Instruments, and Motorola, also have weighed in with concerns that the free Internet condition could hurt companies that want their products to be used internationally. John Muleta, who runs M2Z Networks, the startup that originally brought the free Internet idea to the FCC, said opposing companies simply don't want to face another competitor.