Bill Asks FCC to Auction Spectrum for Wireless Broadband
The FCC would be required to auction unused spectrum to build a nationwide wireless broadband network in a bill introduced Thursday by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Christopher Cannon, R-Utah. The network, to serve at least 95 percent of the country within 10 years, would offer free service tiers to consumers and public safety users. Obscene and indecent material would be banned on the free service tier.
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“The cost of broadband service is a barrier for too many families,” Eshoo said. “More than 100 million Americans [are] without broadband at home,” she said. “The results of the 700 MHz auction disappointed many of us who hoped that a new entrant would emerge,” said Eshoo, who spoke out about the issue at a Telecom Subcommittee hearing Tuesday that reviewed the 700 MHz auction.
“While the auction required under this legislation is open to anyone, it is my hope that the bold conditions of requiring free, family friendly service will encourage the entry of a new kind of national broadband service provider,” she said. Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-sponsored the bill, which Eshoo said would help fulfill the Democrats’ “Innovation Agenda” goal of universal broadband.
CTIA was unenthusiastic. “Flexible use spectrum policy has been a tremendous success for wireless consumers, commercial operators and the U.S. Treasury,” a spokesman said. “To reverse course and have the federal government dictate the business model a bidder may employ is not something we would support. The recently concluded 700 MHz auction is evidence of how such well-intentioned dictates can result in fewer bidders and lower auction proceeds.”
The bill would require a first auction of spectrum located in the initial band between 2155 and 2180 MHz, and a second band of spectrum that is under 3 GHz and isn’t part of the recovered analog spectrum. Licenses would be for a minimum of 15 years. The FCC “shall insure the licensees of spectrum obtained… are mutually and adequately protected from harmful interference,” the bill said.
Licensees would be required to offer “always-on wireless broadband services within two years from the date of receipt of the license.” The winning bidder would have to offer a data service faster than 200 kbps one way “free to consumers and authorized public safety users” with no subscription, airtime, usage or other charges. The network also would permit open access to consumer devices by providing, “publicly and royalty-free, published technical standards” for equipment intended for use.
The commission would have to evaluate whether the speed of the free services should be increased “in light of consumer demand, developments in wireless broadband technologies, and the public interest.” The first evaluation would occur five years after the network begins operating. The FCC and NTIA would jointly review and report to Congress biannually the market conditions of broadband availability and affordability, and update on spectrum usage.
CTIA said it shares Eshoo’s concern about the U.S. lagging its major trading partners on a MHz per user ratio. “Additional spectrum must be made available and we look forward to working with her on this important endeavor,” the spokesman said. “However, mandating how providers should deploy and use such spectrum is something we can’t support.”