Google Still Likely To Bid On SpectrumGoogle Still Likely To Bid On Spectrum

After reportedly piloting his own twin-engine aircraft to this well-known mountain resort town for an evening keynote speech at this year's Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit, Schmidt wrapped his first public comments about the recent spectrum rulemaking into a wide-ranging talk that championed free speech, open networks and the future of communications infrastructure, the latter of which he called "a national issue" that demands immediate attention.

By taking the lead spotlight at the annual PFF event - which is typically attended by the nation's top communications policymakers, lobbyists and associated influencers - Schmidt cemented his new position as high-tech's leading commentator on telecom issues. "We need to keep the Internet free and open - if it goes the other way, we're going to have a serious problem," Schmidt said to open his remarks. He then said networks are now "at the level of roads and electricity," building an important infrastructure "more quickly than we've ever seen."

In his prepared talk, Schmidt championed the defense of free speech, universal broadband access, network neutrality principles and government information transparency as four "call to action" items on Google's to-do list.