Becoming a Man by Mathew Tomson

Deep inside the barrel, completely in tune with my inner self, nothing else matters, the hard wind and spit shooting past me from behind, my hand dragging along the wall, the light shines ahead. My long hair carried by the wind. My feet are in perfect placement on the board. As I lean forward I feel myself speeding up getting faster and faster as the barrel starts to close. I crouch down until my legs burn and I then pull out to the whole lineup cheering. My body tingles with joy and happiness.

I finally felt respected. I got back on my board and paddled to the outside. I turned my head to the right to find Keone and his crew paddling towards me. My joyful feeling disappeared as fast as they came, my mouth went dry and I was truly afraid. He stopped in front of me and raised his hand. I ducked, but no pain was to come. I opened my eyes and put my hand out and firmly grasped his hand. This was not a handshake, it was a sign of respect.

I looked into his eyes and we paddled to the point together without saying a word. The moment was much more powerful than any words could explain. For the rest of the season I was allowed to take off on as many waves as I wanted. I could have never imagined being part of "The Crew" but I was and I will always be. That was the day I became a man.

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Mobile Web: So Close Yet So Far

By Michael Fitzgerald, New York Times

"On the surface, the mobile Web is a happening place. There’s the iPhone in all its glory. More than 30 companies have signed up for the Open Handset Alliance from Google, which aims to bring the wide-open development environment of the Internet to mobile devices. Nokia, which owns nearly 40 percent of the world market for cellphones, is snapping up Web technology companies and has made an eye-popping $8.1 billion bid for Navteq, a digital mapping service. There are also the requisite start-ups chasing the market.

It all looks good, but the wireless communications business smacks of a soap opera, with disaster lurking like your next dropped call."

more...

Free My Phone by Walt Mossberg

"A shortsighted and often just plain stupid federal government has allowed itself to be bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators for decades now. And the result has been a mobile phone system that is the direct opposite of the PC model. It severely limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, crushes entrepreneurship, and has made the U.S. the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world, just as the cellphone is morphing into a powerful hand-held computer." more...

This is a brief excerpt from noted technology journalist Walt Mossberg. While this has the tone of a rant, it's hard to argue that Walt is not spot on in his assessment of the state of the mobile wireless industry in the United States.

While consumers may enjoy some minor sticker shock relief from subsidized devices, the consequences are otherwise dire. The industry is in a near state of gridlock with innovation and choice stifled by the carriers, with a wink and nod from the FCC.

I believe the FCC needs to make a stronger mandate for open access, especially for devices and services. The walled garden approach will not work, and it has been proven that an open model gave rise to more robust markets and services for PC's, the Internet and let's not forget long distance communications.

The FCC can foster innovation and access while protecting the interests of the carriers that successfully bid and pay for use of the spectrum, but let's not forget that the spectrum is a national asset which needs to be effectively leveraged.