"Payback's A Bitch" 3G Operators Tell Government
Over in the UK, the various wireless carriers spent way too much money on 3G spectrum licenses. However, now they're looking to recoup some of that money by telling the government they need to be well-compensated if they're "forced" to carry programming like the BBC. Broadcasters are required by "must carry" rules to offer such programming, but the 3G licenses contained no such clauses - though people expect that to change over time. The carriers may see this as an opportunity to claw back a little of the ridiculously large fees they paid for the licenses in the first place.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: 3g
