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Dec. 16, 2009

Today, CTIA (Cellular Telephone Industries Association) President Steve Largent has testified on the looming U.S. wireless spectrum crisis, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act and the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.

After testifying, Largent released a statement that reiterated the wireless association's position. In the statement, Largent noted that while the mobile communications industry is among the most efficient in its use of spectrum, it is still greatly in danger of seeing overall consumer demand outpacing capacity.

Largent also added that while bandwidth-hungry mobile apps get most of the attention, the wireless industry is also developing and implementing everything from life-saving health apps to environmentally-friendly smart grid technology.

House Resolution 3125, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act, would allow for a more complete inventory of spectrum and how it is being used in the U.S., as well as spectrum that is available for allocation in the future.

“With more than 276 million subscribers in the United States alone, it is vital for our industry to secure at least 800 MHz of additional spectrum by 2015 at the very latest. Wireless spectrum is our industry’s backbone and it is what allows us to continue to innovate and create new mobile apps, products and services. Without this additional spectrum, our industry will cease to provide U.S. consumers with the most innovative and most competitive mobile offerings," Largent said in his statement.

“We need to pass resolution H.R. 3125 in order that we can have a properly constructed inventory to see what mobile spectrum is available in the first place. Once the bill is passed, policymakers and the FCC need to be prepared to reallocate some spectrum identified by the inventory as under-utilized for advanced wireless services," Largent argued, adding that resolution H.R. 3125 would "greatly reduce the risks for auction participants by increasing the amount and quality of information available to bidders and federal agencies before an auction of federally-encumbered spectrum."

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Source: The CTIA.