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Comment by michaelt | Hacker News Reader

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

Goodbye workplace, cafe and hotel wifi?

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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.

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.

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).

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