The Federal Communications Commission’s plan to offer free high-speed wireless Internet all across the country has reached its first speed bump, as the FCC’s Chairman Kevin Martin announced that the proposal will not be voted as initially scheduled during the June 12 meeting and will be postponed until July.

The delay is caused by fierce opposition from the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) which alleges that FCC's plan is doomed to fail, reminding of previous attempts to provide wireless access for free. CTIA, in its filing with the FCC, says that the winner of the spectrum chunk should be allowed to pursue any business plan it seems suited for the needs of its customers.

The ten page filing has apparently delayed voting on the FCC proposal until CTIA's observations are properly evaluated.

The FCC plan consists in setting up an auction for a 25 MHz piece of spectrum in the 2155 MHz band and its winner would be required to offer free wireless-Internet access across the United States territory. The process would be completed over the next few years.

The buyer would also have to build the network for at least 50 percent of the population during the first 4 years and should reach 95 percent in 10 years at the most. Internet would be offered free, but restricted and verified through a content filter for any kind of obscene materials.

The auction procedures are expected to require at least six months, so the postponement of June 12’s meeting will significantly delay the process to set up the pricing plans, minimum data rates, content filtering and many other issues.