Comcast to Emphasize Importance of Unlicensed Spectrum

U.S. spectrum policy must address “the current and future challenges to the continued growth of unlicensed services,” said prepared remarks of Senior Vice President-Business Development Thomas Nagel. He said unlicensed spectrum plays an “important role in facilitating communications” during times of crisis when licensed wireless networks are unavailable or experience heavy traffic. He said many Americans used Wi-Fi to remain connected after cellular access became limited during emergency weather events like Superstorm Sandy and terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing. Nagel said the government must “ensure that access to unlicensed spectrum grows” and “remove unnecessary regulatory barriers that impede the efficient and intensive use of existing unlicensed spectrum resources.” Nagel’s testimony said the FCC’s 5 GHz proceeding is “a welcome development, but there is more work to be done.”

CCA President Steve Berry will ask lawmakers to restore wireless competition. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have “gobbled up numerous competitive carriers in recent years” and “turned what was once a robustly competitive wireless marketplace into an industry marching towards duopoly,” his testimony said. To prevent further consolidation, policymakers should adopt rules to “safeguard competitive carriers’ access to spectrum -- both by updating the ’spectrum screen’ used to evaluate wireless acquisitions, and by structuring spectrum auctions in a way that encourages and rewards participation by a range of competitive carriers,” his written testimony said. The FCC should also enforce roaming requirements, reaffirm interconnection obligations and restore interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band, he will say.

The wireless industry needs access to more licensed spectrum, and policymakers should do all they can to ensure the FCC’s spectrum auction moves forward “expeditiously,” CTIA President Steve Largent will tell lawmakers. The government should look to “repurpose” federal spectrum holdings for commercial use, particularly in the 1755-1780 MHz band which Largent said should be paired with the licensing of the 2155-2180 MHz band. “Just as it is appropriate to ensure that spectrum available to the private sector is being used efficiently and for the most highly valued services, the federal government must evaluate the use of its own spectrum and free spectrum for commercial operations wherever possible,” his testimony said. Largent will also urge lawmakers to continue their “light touch” regulation of the wireless industry and seek to reform the telecom tax system. Doug Webster, Cisco vice president-service provider routing, mobility and video marketing, will urge lawmakers to rapidly allocate more spectrum for commercial wireless and determine whether more 5 GHz spectrum can be made available for Wi-Fi use.

Consumers Union thinks the wireless market isn’t “sufficiently competitive and consumer friendly,” Policy Counsel Delara Derakhshani will say. Derakhshani will express her disappointment that the FCC didn’t extend its new cramming rules to carriers. “Cramming is just as serious a problem for wireless consumers -- and arguably even more so in light of the ease with which it can occur,” she will say. Derakhshani will also urge lawmakers to protect the wireless Lifeline program and permit consumers to unlock their cellphones. Advance testimony from Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford wasn’t available.