Regulators Reject Plan for Free Wireless Broadband Network

Federal regulators are shooting down a proposal by a startup called M2Z Networks to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using a spare slice of airwaves.

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it has rejected M2Z's request that the agency demand that the winner of an auction for the radio spectrum provide free Internet service to anyone who connects to it.

The FCC didn't explain its rejection, but established wireless carriers have complained that use of the spectrum could interfere with their own services in adjacent bands.

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