500 MHz for Broadband a Politically Achievable Goal, Qualcomm Exec Says
The FCC’s proposal to allocate more spectrum to wireless broadband has broad support and could face an easier time politically than most key communications issues before Congress and the FCC, Qualcomm Vice President Dean Brenner said Tuesday at an Information Technology & Innovation Foundation conference. The commission’s National Broadband Plan recommended that 500 MHz of additional spectrum be allocated for wireless broadband within 10 years.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Brenner said he’s optimistic the government will be able to meet the spectrum goal. “This is a completely bipartisan issue,” he said. “There is not a Republican way of looking at the need for more spectrum or a Democratic way of looking at the need for more spectrum. … This in the kind of issue even in an election year … that is right down the middle, everyone can agree on."
Another positive is that many CEOs view wireless as “the sweet spot” for their companies’ future, Brenner said. “We're not talking about steel production,” he said. “We're not talking about a dying industry. This is what every CEO wants to be a part of.” And a spectrum auction is the opposite of the “bailout” sought by other industries in recent years, Brenner said. “AT&T is not saying, ‘Please, federal government, bail me out, buy something, buy my troubled asset,'” he noted. Carriers are saying, “We want the opportunity to buy an asset from the federal government."
Phil Weiser, senior adviser to the White House director of technology and innovation, said the administration understands the importance of wireless. “Not that long ago, wireless was an afterthought,” Weiser said. “Today, AT&T, the reconstituted ATT, refers to themselves as first and foremost a wireless company.”
Weiser said the federal government has a role to play in stimulating broadband deployment, which he described as “public action catalyzing private investment.” He cited the role that the intercontinental railroad and land-grant colleges played in stimulating growth. Getting more spectrum into play for broadband is “going to require a lot of creative thinking, hard work, and it’s taking up most of my time,” he said.
Coleman Bazelon of the Brattle Group said the 500-800 MHz of spectrum that could eventually come online would be worth $100 billion in an auction. That amount would pay for many broadcasters and government users to be moved to other bands, Bazelon said. “Even if you gave half that money to the broadcasters and that got you half the spectrum you'd still have $50 billion left,” he said. “That reallocates an awful lot of radar systems and communications systems in the government and for other private uses."
"We really haven’t seen anything yet,” AT&T Vice President Joan Marsh said of wireless growth. “It was not that long ago when our wireless network was very voice-centric. We did offer some data services, texting and whatever, but they were largely ancillary to the primary product of our network, which was voice services. … Every forecast that we've tried to do on data usage in our network has turned out in hindsight to be conservative.” AT&T is making more-efficient use of the spectrum it has, she said. “At the end of the day, we need more spectrum -- this industry needs more spectrum,” she said. “We need to start working on these issues now if we are going to have spectrum identified and reallocated for commercial use in the future. We cannot wait until we are in a crisis situation before we start addressing and trying to resolve the difficult spectrum issues.”
The industry speakers expressed qualms about net neutrality issues before the FCC. “I'm very concerned,” Marsh said.
Companies like AT&T can’t buy a “widget” to add spectrum to their networks, Bazelon said “There was no federal Zipcar commission,” he said. “Zipcars developed because of ingenuity, innovation, and the fact hat there wasn’t a barrier to using wireless. There should be a great deal of care and thought given before imposing any sort of regime that is in way going to make it more difficult for new business models to come to market.”