By Teresa von Fuchs
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Frontline Wireless has added three new partners to its ranks as it continues to lobby for its proposal on the 700 MHz spectrum auction. New partners include: former Netscape CEO James Barksdale; venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers; and Vanu Bose, president and CEO of Vanu, a software-defined-radio (SDR) solutions provider.
"With this terrific trio of new partners -Messrs. Barksdale, Bose and Doerr - Frontline advances our goals of building public safety a free, national 4G network and creating an open access wireless platform for all entrepreneurs and rural telcos," former chairman of the FCC and Frontline Vice Chairman Reed Hundt said in a statement.
Though some industry groups, including CTIA, have raised questions about the legality and viability of Frontline's proposal, last week Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, released a statement saying that it is wise for the FCC to consider various 700 MHz proposals "rather than rushing headlong into a 'fire sale' of these licenses."