The CTIA, the cellular industry’s main trade association in the United States, is prodding Congress to move legislation that would take inventory of what portions are being used and by whom, reports Reuters.
Freeing up spectrum currently held by U.S. government agencies like the DOD is one of the ways being considered, said Blair Levin, who heads the FCC’s broadband initiative.
“We can’t wait eight to 11 years for additional spectrum,” CTIA President Steve Largent told reporters. He said his group will urge lawmakers to include language in legislation to set a timetable for spectrum auctions for businesses.
Both chambers of Congress are considering legislation.
Levin and the FCC are crafting a national broadband plan, as mandated by Congress, to extend broadband services to unserved Americans living in rural areas and to make broadband affordable for those living in urban areas. The FCC’s broadband plan is due in February. It will detail just how the government can ensure that everyone in the country has some way to wire up.
“A key input is spectrum,” said Levin, the top broadband official at the Federal Communications Commission. “There is consensus in the record; there is not enough of it.”
