Speaking at the International CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment conference in San Diego, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday he said he has four top priorities:
- Increasing the amount of spectrum available for 4G;
- Removing delays to building 4G, including getting faster approval for building cell sites;
- Keeping the internet open, “while recognizing the differences in wired and wireless technologies”
- Fostering competition.
He sees a crisis coming in the availability of airwaves needed for mobile Internet use and laid out his objectives to head it off, according to the Wall St Journal. Genachowski proposed a “shot clock” proposal to speed up the often controversial sitting of cellphone towers; and ensure that the Internet remains an open technology.
“It takes years to reallocate spectrum and put it to use, and there are no easy pickings on the spectrum chart, but we have no choice,” said Genachowski.
He opened up his keynote up by commending AT&T’s decision yesterday to reverse its policies on allowing VoIP over its wireless network for providers like Skype and allow calls using wi-fi networks and mentioned Verizon’s partnership with Google to roll-out Android phones, as steps in the right direction.
You can read the full text of the FCC Chairman’s speech here.
Following Genachowski at the CTIA was AT&T mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega.
He said the wireless sector was a vital part of the U.S. economy and implied that new consumer protections would do more harm than good (pdf).
