FCC Will Target 500 MHz Over 10 Years to Be Reallocated for Mobile Broadband

The NBP will recommend a “Mobile Future Auction,” which would permit existing spectrum licensees, such as TV broadcasters, to “voluntarily relinquish spectrum in exchange for a share of auction proceeds, and allow spectrum sharing and other spectrum efficiency measures,” Genachowski said.

In the buildup to the March open FCC meeting, where the plan will be released, Genachowski has been releasing details bit by bit. The 500 MHz figure is the same mentioned in an NTIA budget document, and broadband staff have indicated for months that broadcast spectrum would be targeted in a voluntary program. More details are on the way. Genachowski and Public Safety Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett have scheduled a press conference Thursday to discuss public safety provisions in the plan, which have already been well enunciated.

"Although the potential of mobile broadband is limitless, its oxygen supply is not,” Genachowski said Wednesday. “Spectrum -- our airwaves -- really is the oxygen of mobile broadband service. Without sufficient spectrum, we will starve mobile broadband of the nourishment it needs to thrive as a platform for innovation, job creation and economic growth.” Genachowski reiterated his statement at last fall’s CTIA conference that the U.S. faces a “looming spectrum crunch."

Genachowski cited a letter the FCC received from more than 100 companies, including Amazon and Apple, equipment suppliers and major carriers, which said “without more spectrum, America’s global leadership in innovation and technology is threatened.” He cited figures from Cisco that North American wireless networks carried 17 petabytes per month in 2009 but will see traffic increase to 740 petabytes per month by 2014. “Counting 2008’s 700 MHz auction, the FCC in recent years has authorized a three-fold increase in commercial spectrum for mobile broadband,” he said. “But that increase will not allow us to keep pace with an estimated 30-fold increase in traffic."

"Let me be clear: the recommendation is for a voluntary program,” Genachowski stressed. “While overwhelmingly -- roughly 90 percent -- of Americans receive their broadcast TV programming in most major markets through cable wires or satellite signals, there are still millions of Americans who receive TV through over-the-air antenna TV.” But Genachowski also indicated he found persuasive arguments that much broadcast spectrum is underutilized.

"One study suggests that as much as $50 billion in value could be unlocked if we adopted policies to convert some of the broadcast spectrum to mobile broadband,” Genachowski said. “This suggests that there are inefficiencies in the current allocation. … About 300 megahertz of spectrum have been set aside for broadcast TV. In markets with less than one million people, only 36 megahertz are typically used for broadcasting. In cities with more than 1 million people, on average about 100 megahertz are used. Even in our very largest cities, at most only about 150 megahertz out of 300 megahertz are used."

David Donovan, president of the Association for Maximum Service Television, said he would review the FCC proposal carefully when it’s released next month. “MSTV is struck by the apparent focus on reducing spectrum now used by local television stations to achieve the Broadband Task Force’s objective. We have exclusive use of only 5.1 percent of the so-called beachfront spectrum that broadband services desire.” Donovan said that in tough economic times “consumers should not be forced to sacrifice access to their favorite free, local TV programs, news, emergency information, and local mobile video services in order to divert spectrum to the wireless telephone companies that will turn around and provide pay-based services."

"As a one-to-many transmission medium, broadcasters are ready to make the case that we are far and away the most efficient users of spectrum in today’s communications marketplace,” NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said in a statement responding to the chairman. “We look forward to working with policymakers to help expand the roll-out of broadband without threatening the future of free and local television, mindful of the fact that local TV stations just returned more than a quarter of our spectrum following our transition to digital."

An industry panel debated the Genachowski speech at the New America Foundation event after the chairman spoke. “Here in the D.C. market, 13 of the 49 [broadcast] channels are being used, that’s 78 MHz of spectrum that’s being used out of 294 that has been allocated,” said Chris Guttman-McCabe, CTIA regulatory affairs vice president. “There is obviously, clearly, a problem there.” He said many questions remain about the proposed voluntary auction: “But for the first time, at least since I have been in this business, we're shining a very bright light on the allocation to broadcasters, not on individual station usage … but on the overall allocation.”

Guttman-McCabe said “something has to change.” But he also noted that getting 500 MHz of spectrum will require getting spectrum from more than broadcast airwaves. “There are a number of other areas and bands that we are looking at beyond just the broadcasters,” he said. “The same issue is going to arise about how do you either reallocate them or provide an incentive for them to want to be reallocated.”

"Over the air broadcasting continues to be an important service in a lot of communities,” said Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott. “That said, there are a lot of people who believe that the broadcasting industry as it exists today doesn’t have a business in 10 years. Therefore it makes sense to entertain these kinds of proposals about how to use spectrum better that’s currently being occupied by broadcast channels -- pack them down, put them in the satellite band. … I have to say for myself the notion that we should buy back spectrum from licensees who got the spectrum for free in the first place sits very poorly with me. I don’t like that idea. I understand the politics around it and I understand the position that the broadcasters are in right now. But I think that question has got to be very carefully considered."

Many questions remain based on Genachowski’s proposal for a strictly voluntary program, said Matt Wood, associate director of the Media Access Project. “We shouldn’t focus only on the broadcasters,” Wood said. “If you think they're tough, they don’t have tanks and airplanes. The Department of Defense, people like that, are in this conversation too."

CTIA President Steve Largent welcomed the Genachowski statements: “Today’s announcements on spectrum are essential to the wireless industry’s ability to continue to provide and expand Americans’ access to broadband anywhere and anytime. … By proposing to free up 500 MHz of new spectrum for mobile broadband use, Chairman Genachowski has taken a tremendous step toward maintaining our worldwide mobile ecosystem leadership. His recognition of the importance of reducing red tape and barriers to investment is also critical for the continued success of the wireless industry."

"If the FCC can come up with a plan that provides incentives for broadcasters voluntarily to give up some of their spectrum to be auctioned this would be an important contribution to any plan to promote ubiquitous broadband availability,” said Free State Foundation President Randolph May. “Wireless broadband needs the spectrum to play an increasingly significant role in the overall broadband picture.”