Just over a year ago, we were all making bitter beer faces at FCC chairman Kevin Martin for not going along with a delightful sounding "free internet" plan. Now, it seems the main man's tune has changed. During a recent interview, Martin stated that there was a "social obligation in making sure everybody could participate in the next generation of broadband services because, increasingly, that's what people want." He's reportedly looking to attach a free mobile broadband requirement to the AWS-3 spectrum that's set to be auctioned next year, which would require the winner to allocate 25% for gratis access. 'Course, we wouldn't get our hopes us for this to actually go down like it surely is playing out in your mind just now, but we won't fault you for dreamin'.

[Via phonescoop]

Gulp. FCC chairman Kevin Martin is prepping for a big ol' congressional probe this morning. Martin received a letter today warning that he is being investigated for, "management practices that may adversely affect the Commission's ability to both discharge effectively its statutory duties and to guard against waste, fraud, and abuse." Martin, you'll recall, was recently accused of being in Verizon's back pocket during its attempt to revise the 700MHz open-access rule. The investigation is prompted by allegations made by "credible" FCC employees, both current and former, so far reaching -- including its handling of Comcast and the so-called, 70-percent ruling -- that Ars Technica expects it to turn the "FCC upside down." Martin has two weeks to deliver "a truckload" of records to Congress before this revolution gets televised.

Prepare to feel your carrier-hate well from within. Remember Verizon Wireless' lawsuit against the FCC claiming that the 700MHZ open-access auction rule -- the rule enabling the likes of Google, Apple, and others to take home a slice of the spectrum pie -- "violates the US Constitution?" Well, according to "industry sources," FCC chairman Kevin Martin is "aggressively pushing" for revisions to the 700MHz open-access rule in response to Verizon Wireless' lobbying efforts. However, having been met with an internal FCC "backlash" last week, Martin is said to be preparing a "declaratory ruling" in an effort to fast-track support for VZW's claim outside of the normal public-comment process. Insiders worry that Martin is caving to VZW pressure as the auction expected to generate some $15 billion in FCC fun-money draws near. Man, nothing says free market capitalism like a little protectionist bullying -- "can we sue you now."

[Via Phonescoop]

The FCC has just approved rules on the highly-sought after, Google-attracting 700MHz wireless frequency band auction which will take place sometime next year. The agency has decided that one-third of the soon-to-be-empty band will be available to consumers under FCC chairman Kevin Martin's "open access" plan, which forces the winning bidder to keep the band accessible to any wireless device or application regardless of the maker, opening up options heretofore unseen on established networks. The 700MHz range -- which is being vacated by television broadcasters going digital -- is desirable because of its ability to travel long distances and easily penetrate walls, and Martin feels it could provide a "third pipe" to US homes, circumventing the established stranglehold cable and telephone companies have on bandwidth. A total of 60 megahertz will be auctioned off, with twenty-two of them "open," and another 10 set aside for a "national public safety" network. The auctioning off of the frequency is expected to raise as much as $15 billion for the federal treasury.