[Nettime-bold] Re: Cellpohones and the cancer of cellspace

[robert adrian <rax@thing.at>]

Roberto Verzola wrote:
>Access to the ether should therefore be a matter of right, but
>access to cellphone and telephone services are constrained by
>private property considerations.

While not wanting to get into a pissing match about media
history, the "ether" has been controlled by international
regulations for at least 75 years. Most of the radio spectrum
is reserved for "official" uses and commercial or public
broadcasting while (with the exception of the babble of CB)
private use of the "ether" for 2-way communication is
restricted to licensed (ham) operators - and the license
limits communication to little more than the exchange of
technical data.

In a different ideological climate the cellphone could have
been developed as a public service. Instead, national
governments have sold or leased (often for staggering
amounts of money) radio frequencies to commercial cellphone
operators.

But it's still radio.


______________robert adrian_____________


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