Largent Says FCC, NTIA Should Take Quick Action on Spectrum
The FCC needs to develop an “accelerated timeframe” if it’s to meet “its own goal of bringing 300 MHz of spectrum to market by 2015,” CTIA President Steve Largent wrote the agency’s members (http://xrl.us/bmy54z) and NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. The letters urge the FCC to release a concrete timetable for fulfilling the requirements of recently enacted spectrum legislation. The letters come the day after Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the launch of a task force to prepare for an upcoming auction of broadcast spectrum (CD March 22 p1).
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The 300 MHz “was a key element of the National Broadband Plan, and in order to achieve it, the Commission must act quickly and decisively to bring the greatest amount of spectrum to market possible,” Largent said. “At the same time, the Commission should work to ensure that its decisions, particularly with regard to the reverse auction process, are simple, easy to understand, and promote broadcaster participation.” Largent acknowledged “this task will not be easy.”
Largent stressed the importance of the 1755-1780 MHz band, a top priority of carriers for conversion to wireless broadband. “CTIA and its members continue to call for the pairing of the AWS-3 spectrum, 2155-2180 MHz, with Federal spectrum at 1755-1780 MHz,” the group said. “We urge NTIA to issue the long-awaited report on repurposing the 1755-1850 MHz band -- and to swiftly reallocate the 1755-1780 MHz band for mobile broadband service.” Any other band paired with the AWS-3 band “will depress the value and promise of the band,” Largent said.
The letters urge “immediate commencement of FCC and NTIA consultations and proceedings” aimed at identifying “the new 15 megahertz of Government spectrum and new 15 megahertz of commercial spectrum required under the Spectrum Legislation.” The letters call for “initiation, within 60 days, of FCC proceedings: (1) to examine the band plan and spectrum reallocation options for all spectrum identified by the Spectrum Legislation to be subject to competitive bidding and (2) to permit timely incentive auctions for broadcast television spectrum (Incentive Auction NPRM and TV Flexibility Order).”
Rural Cellular Association President Steve Berry is mostly in agreement with Largent. “We need to act expeditiously to move more spectrum to the market,” Berry said. “RCA stands ready to help facilitate the process and insure competitive carriers have the opportunity to access new and additional mobile broadband spectrum. Consumer demand will not abate while the government seeks to find solutions -- there is a lot to be done and time is a wasting."
"NTIA is committed to fulfilling President [Barack] Obama’s ambitious goal of nearly doubling the amount of spectrum available for commercial wireless broadband within this decade,” the agency said in response to Largent. “As we maximize use of our limited spectrum resources, we will also take care to protect the vital federal government missions that depend on spectrum. In the near future, we will release our findings on the 1755 MHz band, which we prioritized for analysis due to industry interest in this spectrum. This is a complex task affecting many stakeholders, and we have been working carefully with our federal partners to get it right.” The FCC did not respond by our deadline