Super Committee Members Want More Government Spectrum Looked at for Broadband
Four members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Friday asked President Barack Obama to instruct the Office of Management and Budget to identify more federal spectrum below 3 GHz that could be reallocated for wireless broadband. Special attention should be given to identifying “paired, internationally-harmonized spectrum ... in sufficient block sizes to support mobile broadband services within the next 10 years,” the letter said. The four ask Obama to respond by Oct. 14.
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The letter was signed by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Commerce Committee, Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., and Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa. The 12-member special committee is tasked with issuing a formal recommendation on how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
"In February, you set a goal of making an additional 500 MHz of spectrum available for wireless broadband use. You identified voluntary incentive auctions of spectrum currently allocated, for example, to broadcast television as one potential source,” the letter said. “We certainly support such voluntary incentive auctions. But we believe that those auctions will not produce all the spectrum we need to meet our country’s growing demand for broadband.”
Efforts aimed at getting spectrum for broadband “enjoy bipartisan Congressional support,” the letter said (http://xrl.us/bmfkoz). “Spectrum auctions would generate tens of billions of dollars in auction proceeds, help the Select Committee meet its deficit reduction goals, stimulate billions in private-sector capital investment, provide a job-creating boost to the economy, and ensure that America continues to lead the world in wireless broadband innovation."
Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld questioned the point of the letter, given the administration’s ongoing push to identify spectrum for broadband. “I am really not at all sure on what more they think the Obama Administration can do to clear out this spectrum,” he said by email. “As the [Congressional Budget Office] explained when it scored S.911, moving Department of Defense operations out of desired spectrum is a lengthy, complicated and expensive prospect that may not be possible. That’s why CBO assigned a score of practically zero to S.911’s federal spectrum designations. And I remind Mr. Upton, et al. that the last time OMB ‘pressured’ the military on spectrum, his Republican colleagues threw a fit."
"This looks like a maneuver to pressure the White House to lean on the Defense Department in particular to clear a couple specific spectrum bands coveted by the big carriers,” said Michael Calabrese, senior fellow at the New America Foundation. “If raising some one-time revenue wasn’t driving policy, Mr. Upton, Mr. Kerry and others could do far more good for mobile broadband consumers and competition by pressuring the military and FAA to cooperate with LightSquared to resolve GPS interference, so that a larger amount of prime satellite spectrum is used now to build out a nationwide wholesale network. Of course, the industry doesn’t want that satellite spectrum in use, since it would help the smaller, regional carriers and create more competition."
But Free State Foundation President Randolph May said the steps urged by the lawmakers make sense. “In truth, this should have been done by now,” he said. “But better late than never. President Obama ought to get the government moving on this spectrum initiative that has bipartisan support.” Reallocating underutilized federal spectrum “would be good for the nation’s economy in two macro ways: Private sector wireless broadband providers need the spectrum to be in a position to grow and offer innovative new services, and America’s taxpayers would benefit from the reduction in the national debt attributable to the auction proceeds,” May said.
CTIA President Steve Largent said he’s pleased by the “continued bi-partisan and bicameral support for making additional spectrum below 3 gigahertz available for commercial use."
CEA hails the letter urging the administration “to examine its own spectrum resources and reallocate underutilized government spectrum for wireless broadband,” said Michael Petricone, CEA senior vice president-government and regulatory affairs. “CEA has consistently urged policymakers to evaluate all spectrum resources and work to ensure the most efficient uses,” Petricone said. “While we believe voluntary incentive auctions are a strong first step to addressing the looming spectrum crunch, we also strongly support review and reallocation of underutilized government spectrum.”