THE US GOVERNMENT has rejected plans to use spare capacity in the broadcast spectrum to provide cheap, fast, Internet access to remote areas of the country.
A consortium of practically unknown technology companies including Microsoft, Google, Dell, Intel, HP and Philips have been told that their plan could cause interference to TV broadcasts. The FCC claims that the proposed system 'cannot reliably detect' spare capacity and rejected the scheme that could have brought fast Web access to rural areas badly served by existing transport mechanisms.

It will come as no surprise to discover that TV companies have brought considerable lobbying pressure to bear to spare the American public the tragic consequences of not being able to receive repeats of Gilligan's Island, The Lucy Show or these important messages from our sponsors without fear of interference.

It will also, no doubt, be immensely reassuring for the US public to know that the FCC obviously knows far more about the technical problems involved than any of the two-bit companies involved in the scheme.