So many puns, so little time or light

And so it is that LightSquared's attempt to become a carrier's carrier has hit a hurdle too high with the Federal Communications Commission refusing to grant the company access to spectrum that it controls.

This is the same FCC that got the ball rolling on this whole fiasco by telling LightSquared to go ahead and start working on its planned mobile broadband network in spite of the fact that the powerful GPS lobby was set to prevent LightSquared from ever getting its paws on that spectrum. This encouragement was done in accordance with the guise of the FCC wanting to expand broadband services.

The loop on this whole deal

For those out of the loop on this whole deal, really LightSquared managed to scrounge at the same time spectrum assets in the 1.6 GHz band that was originally set aside for use in satellite communications and at the time convinced the government to allow the company to use that spectrum to provide traditional cellular service. It even seemed to gain favor from the stodgy pants over at the Federal Communications Commission, who sort of granted LightSquared to move forward with those ambitious network plans though everyone sort of knew that there would be some potential interference issues with GPS devices that operate in bands next to LightSquared's spectrum.

– We are now just about a week away from the annual Mobile World Congress event, which has found a nice home in Barcelona and could be furthermore deeply discovered than in previous years by attendees. As such, those of us in the United States will be making a pilgrimage to the old world, where streets were at first constructed for something narrower than a Hummer, an "early-bird special" for dinner is a nearly-midnight affair and where making a cellphone call harkens back to the days of "Ma Bell" long-distance charges.

The first two are issues that can easily be dealt with

While the first two are issues that can easily be dealt with, it's that final issue that somehow manages to escape me. How is it that at a time when traditional voice calling has become a commodity often priced at pennies per minute for most consumers, wireless carriers continue to charge exhorbidant rates when a customer takes their mobile device to another country.

I know this is an issue that clients who live in country's with many borders nearby have to deal with on a regular basis, however it seems like with the upcoming MWC event, this would be an issue that could somehow be solved. How is it possible to charge someone $2 or more per minute to make a cellphone call?!?

The cellular issue

Some will claim that there are plenty of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) options out there for those looking to skirt the cellular issue. Nevertheless, these require either a Wi-Fi connection, which sort of undermines the whole "mobile" issue, or you need to sign up for a data plan, which somehow have furthermore outlandish pricing models.

–Had to double check that it was not April 1 on this report, however a new survey out of the United Kingdom from SecurEnvoy found that two-thirds of people questioned said they "fear losing or being without their mobile phone." Even better, this "condition" was labeled "nomophobia" in the press release. Those British are so funny.

Women in the study were seen to be more stricken with fear in losing their mobile device, although men were more likely to have two mobile phones, you know, in case they lost the first one. Yeah, that's the ticket.