Rest of Americas Watching U.S. Moves to Bring More Broadband Spectrum Online
Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas said the wireless industry must keep up pressure on the government to make the 1755-1780 MHz band available for wireless broadband. Unless the U.S. makes that band and other spectrum available, the country faces a “stop sign” that will halt the wireless growth the public has come to expect, he said in an interview.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
"I just think that there’s such an opportunity here,” Pearson said of the 1755 MHz band. “This is the United States of America. We can find a way and this is important for our economy. We will show leadership for the rest of the Americas. … It won’t be easy.” The NTIA is expected to release a key report on the future of the broader 1755-1850 MHz band. Carrier focus has primarily been on the lower 25 MHz, which the industry hopes can be cleared of federal users and paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band.
The U.S. has been “barely able to stay a step ahead” of the explosive growth in wireless broadband, Pearson said. “We're close to that stop sign.” He’s “cautiously optimistic” Congress will give the FCC authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions for TV broadcast spectrum. “This is not a Republican issue,” he said. “This is not a Democratic issue. This is not a tea party issue. … This is an issue for America to continue our leadership in mobile broadband.”
Other countries in the Americas are watching U.S. moves on spectrum closely, Pearson said. “If we can get going on 1755, that would have a dramatic effect on the rest of the Americas,” he said. “If the U.S. can get going on incentive auctions [for broadcast spectrum] and repackage and repurpose that spectrum, that would have a dramatic effect on the world standards.”
Nations throughout the Americas have the same goals for spectrum, Pearson said. “When we talk to anybody in the U.S. or anywhere in the Americas where we do most of our work, you want to look for internationally harmonized spectrum,” he said. “You want clearly defined rules. You want transparency in the process and the more harmonized spectrum you have, the more valuable it will be for the industry as well as for the government treasury."
Countries in the Americas are looking closely at following the U.S. lead on the 700 MHz band, Pearson said. “Right now, Latin Americans’ governments … are looking at the 700 MHz plan that’s being used in the United States and trying to determine if that’s the best plan for them or not, and they're looking at the various merits of it,” he said. The U.S. AWS-1 band is also getting significant attention throughout the region, he said. “It’s harmonized spectrum,” he said. “The United States took the lead to get that spectrum out quite a few years ago and it’s now harmonized in all the standards. There’s devices. … There are no interference issues.” Pearson said “there’s a lot to be said for looking at the true and tried internationally harmonized spectrum, and that’s what Latin America is doing right now.”
Pearson said 4G Americas is watching LightSquared’s push to launch a wireless network, but has not taken a position. “There’s been enough people weighing in on that,” he said. Pearson also said the LightSquared fight shows the importance of identifying spectrum that can be reallocated for broadband that does not present major interference issues.