FCC hopes to avoid 'end of world' for cell phones
By David Goldman :
Mobile data traffic is expected to increase by a factor of 13 in five years, according to Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500). That's why the Federal Communications Commission and carriers are working diligently to free up big swaths of wireless spectrum for mobile devices. By doing so, they're attempting to stave off what most agree would be a miserable outcome if they fail.
"I e-mailed my boss to ask what would happen if we don't free up enough spectrum," said Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile's vice president of government affairs, at a panel discussion held at the CTIA wireless industry trade show in Las Vegas this week. "He wrote, 'It will be the end of the world as we know it.' He didn't put a smiley face at the end or anything."
Wireless spectrum essentially serves as bandwidth for smartphones and tablets. More spectrum can mean faster speeds for mobile downloads; cramped spectrum can lead to spotty service, slower speeds and even higher bills. So as more people use smartphones, wireless carriers and the FCC believe there will soon be a need for more spectrum.
As part of an effort to free up a large chunk of spectrum by 2015 for commercial mobile usage, the FCC has already identified some spectrum currently used by TV broadcasters as well as more used by a combination of government agencies and other broadcasters to auction off for mobile usage. Those sales are expected to take place next year.
Disagreements between carriers and the broadcasters and government agencies that currently license that spectrum are rampant. Just this week, AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) jointly sent an open letter to the FCC, essentially accusing the FCC of stalling the auction process.
There are also major disagreements about how the spectrum should be auctioned, which airwaves should be unlicensed (like Wi-Fi), and how much spectrum sharing is possible.
CNN
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