On July 31, the Bush administration's Federal Communications Commission voted to impose a burdensome 1960s-era regulatory regime on currently unregulated wireless broadband operators. Republicans Kevin Martin and Deborah Tate joined with the two always pro-regulatory Democrat commissioners to require whichever entity wins the bidding on soon-to-be auctioned 700 MHz radio spectrum to operate on an "open access" basis. The fifth commissioner, Republican Robert McDowell dissented, stating that he favored "a market-based pro-competition solution...over a prescriptive regulatory approach."

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