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Jul. 11, 2009

Interestingly, a recent survey suggests that almost nobody actually knows for sure who uses what spectrum in the U.S. And even some officials that should know don't seem to... Now this has some wireless industry observers a bit concerned.

Hoping to change all of that, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has just approved a bill a few days ago that directs the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the FCC to inventory and catalog spectrum use between 300 MHz and 3.5 GHz.

But shouldn't this have been done a long time ago?

Sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, (D-Mass.), the bill now goes on to consideration by the full Senate, and a similar bill would also have to be considered in the House of Representatives before being enacted, if it ever does. Now some are skeptical it may not go through.

Others disagree. Upon originally introducing the bill more than four months ago, Kerry said “our public airwaves belong to the American people, and we need to make certain we are putting them to good use and in the best interests of those citizens.”

The CED (Committee for Economic Development) publishes a spectrum usage – or frequency allocation – wall chart annually.

The 2009 version will be published in the August edition.

The fact that not many people actually know (or even care) about who uses what air spectrum and what they do with it is disturbing, to say the least.

It will be interesting to see what future findings the FCC or the NTIA come up with in the next six to twelve months.

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Source: The NTIA.