InternetNews' Roy Mark reports that former FCC chairman Reed Hundt is using the popularity of the iPhone to talk up the need for a nationwide 4G wireless network.

Hundt says AT&T's strengths -- and its limitations -- are obvious. "It's the only network that reaches 90 percent of the United States," he says. "It is at dial-up speeds, though. I'm not blaming AT&T. That's like blaming the sun for global warming. The blame rests with the government."

Hundt and his partners in Frontline Wireless, Mark writes, "are trying to convince the FCC to change the rules for the upcoming 700 MHz auction to create a public/private partnership for a national network to compete with AT&T and Verizon."

Regarding naysayers, Hundt says, "They don't seem to have heard of the iPhone. If they didn't get it before, the iPhone proves we need a fast, fourth generation (4G) network. Our job is to make sure this Ferrari doesn't run on a dirt road."

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