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Comment by lifeisstillgood | Hacker News Reader

I am amazed commercial exploitation of the unlicensed bands is even on regulators radar. If you are providing commercial use of the spectrum, you have to get off that band.

It seems that "citizens band" radio was much better "branded" than wifi. Perhaps we should call it "citizens wifi"

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Unlicensed means just that - anybody can use the band for any commercial or non-commercial purpose using any radio technology (not just WiFi) provided they conform to the regulated power output etc. There are already plenty of commercial users of unlicensed spectrum including subscription-based WiFi.

Now, where you are right IMHO is that there is a kind-of hypocracy by the carriers here. For many years they opposed unlicensed spectrum because they thought it devalued their licensed spctrum asset. Now they have done a complete U-turn and want to colonise unlicensed spectrum instead.

  If you are providing commercial use of the 
  spectrum, you have to get off that band.

Goodbye workplace, cafe and hotel wifi?

Usually workplace and cafe wifi are offered for free.

So are most Google services, yet they're still commercial. A cafe and a workplace offers Wifi as part of their commercial activities (to attract customers in the first case, and as a working tool in the second).

I wouldn't mind if wifi had to be at no additional charge or free with service.

Well the wifi should be certainly. The issue is the internet backhaul can be chargeable. Which to all intents and purposes says LTE providers can come along and offer high powered radio, and effectively block out any low power wifi routers.

So, if anything this seems like "denial of service" problem more than citizens band wifi.

But I still say the branding is needed.

I think it is different. The usage of the spectrum is what should be free or not - I can sell anything I like over the spectrum, but the access to the spectrum should be citizens wifi - free and unfettered, except to the extent others try to use it (tragedy of commons is coming of course)

So it's fine to sell internet access over that spectrum ... i think I am turning myself round here.

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