The U.S. is on equivalent footing with much of the...
The U.S. is on equivalent footing with much of the developed world in terms of licensed spectrum below 2.7 GHz available for mobile broadband, according to a new paper released by the FCC. The U.S. has 663 MHz available or…
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in the pipeline, not including the “significant amount of spectrum that will be made available for mobile broadband from incentive auctions and federal repurposing,” the paper said. Of the nine other countries listed, only Australia has more, at 708 MHz, said the report. The U.K. (618 MHz), Germany (615 MHz) and France (605 MHz) all trail. The white paper, “The Mobile Broadband Spectrum Challenge: International Comparisons,” is available on the commission’s website (http://bit.ly/WhXZ3m). The FCC numbers appear to contradict arguments by CTIA that the U.S. is falling behind countries like Germany and the U.K. in terms of putting spectrum in the pipeline for the use of carriers (http://bit.ly/WhZH4I). By CTIA’s count, as of last year, 409.5 MHz of spectrum were assigned for commercial use in the U.S., with another 50 MHz in the pipeline. Germany had 615 MHz in play and 350 MHz sold in a recent auction, CTIA said. In the U.K. 375 MHz was allocated to commercial use with 310 MHz more in the pipeline, numbers similar to Japan (347 in play, 400 in the pipeline). “The report speaks for itself -- the U.S. government has already dedicated far more spectrum to its wireless carriers than almost any other country, and there are many more megahertz on the way, including through the incentive auction,” NAB President Gordon Smith said. “At some point the conversation will have to shift to how efficiently that spectrum is being used, because the U.S. wireless industry’s insatiable appetite for more will have to come to an end, one way or another.” “I think that the FCC would agree that the combination of our population, usage numbers, and the innovative expansion of mobile broadband into vertical markets such as health care, education, smart grid and more makes us a unique country from a mobile broadband perspective,” CTIA Vice President Chris Guttman-McCabe said, commenting on the report. “I think that the FCC also would agree with CTIA that the goal is to continue to lead the world in terms of the mobile ecosystem. To do that, policymakers must deliver on the promises made by the President, Congress, and the FCC to bring an additional 500 MHz of spectrum to the market, 300 MHz in the next two years. Fulfilling those promises will spur investment, create countless jobs, maintain our technological advantage, help reduce the deficit, and drive our economy forward.”