As iPhone reveals weakness of Edge network, a call for a national wireless network

The sale of the iPhone is a publicity event of such gargantuan proportions that anyone with a reasonable hook to the story can use media hunger for all things iPhone to air their particular agenda. Enter Reed Hundt, former chairman of the FCC and front man for Frontline Wireless.

The hook: the widely reported problems with AT&T's Edge network, which is not apparently suffering from iPhone overload. The problems appear to stem from the fact that the network just plain sucks.

The agenda: Frontline's plan for a national wireless broadband network built on 22MHz of spectrum Frontline wants the FCC to set aside. According to InfoWorld:

"The connection service is a bridge back to the 20th century," Hundt said Monday. "The iPhone is like the guy who invented the Ferrari and found out he was selling into a country of dirt roads."

Unlike many iPhone users, Hundt isn't blaming AT&T. He says the government needs to provide more spectrum for faster networks.

"It's not AT&T, its not Apple, it's the government that arranged things so there'd be only one national network," he said.

At issue is the 700MHz band being abandoned by television stations as TV goes digital. , Hundt said. That spectrum, which is being auctioned off, allows broadband signals to travel three to four times further than signals in other spectrum. Frontline wants some of that far-reaching spectrum to be used for a national wireless network.

"There's one last chance for the government to take a new course, and create an open, truly national ... wireless broadband network," he said.

Frontline's plan is to require the winning bidder of one chunk of spectrum to build a dual-use commercial and emergency response network, with priority network use for police and fire departments. Frontline is asking the FCC to require "open access" rules, allowing wireless and broadband providers across the country to buy wholesale access to the network.

And who doesn't like this plan? Who usually doesn't like providing access to the public infrastructure they paid big bucks to lockup?

CTIA, a trade group representing wireless phone providers, and the Hands Off the Internet coalition, representing AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, and other groups, have opposed open-access rules, saying consumers already have many choices in the wireless market.

That would be the choice between the Edge network and spotty, flaky free Wi-Fi connections, including the municipal Wi-Fi connections these companies fought so hard to block?