Urging the FCC (News - Alert) to act “expeditiously” to avoid a looming spectrum crisis, two leading industry associations representing wireless and mobile entertainment stakeholders sent a joint letter to the FCC calling for an evaluation of allocated spectrum.

 

A shortage of spectrum may be the “biggest threat to the future of mobile in America,” CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent and Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro (News - Alert) said in the letter. To thwart this threat, both parties called for a significant amount of new, licensed commercial wireless spectrum to propel the continued evolution and development of wireless broadband.

 

The FCC was not immediately available for comment.

 

“To respond adequately to the near-term shortage of available commercial wireless spectrum, the Wireless Broadband Proponents believe that the Commission should leave no stone unturned in its quest for identifying spectrum below 3 GHz for reallocation,” the CTIA (News - Alert) stated. “As part of that effort, we respectfully request that, pursuant to Congress’s mandate in Section 336(g) of the Communications Act, the FCC immediately begin a proceeding to investigate potential reallocation of broadcast spectrum.”

 

Specifically, Section 336(g) of the Communications Act states that spectrum is to be evaluated within ten years after the date the Commission first issues additional licenses for advanced television services. The evaluation must include: an assessment of the willingness of consumers to purchase the television receivers necessary to receive broadcasts of advanced television services; an assessment of alternative uses, including public safety use, of the frequencies used for such broadcasts; and the extent to which the Commission has been or will be able to reduce the amount of spectrum assigned to licensees.

 

Largent and Shapiro contend that Commission has never conducted a detailed evaluation of advanced television services, nor has it made an assessment of "alternative uses and the ability of the Commission to reduce the amount of spectrum assigned to broadcast television licensees” since the initial construction permits for advanced television services were issued in 1997.

 

“This spectrum is uniquely suited for mobile broadband applications, devices and services – it has highly favorable propagation characteristics and is directly adjacent to the 700 and 800 MHz spectrum utilized by the commercial wireless industry,” the letter stated.

 

Largent and Shapiro have said they believe the Commission is at a crucial junction as it deliberates the development of the National Broadband Plan.

 

“Mobile broadband services are widely anticipated to play a critical role in providing broadband services to the American public,” the letter stated. “Without swift Commission action to identify and clear significant portions of electromagnetic spectrum below 3 GHz, consumers and businesses in this country will be unable to access the Internet and information sources so necessary to be competitive internationally. We strongly recommend that the Commission, consistent with Congressional directives, immediately launch efforts to evaluate broadcast television spectrum usage as part of the National Broadband Plan.”