Genachowski: Spectrum Crisis Not Immediate, But Planning For It Should Be

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat net>
> Date: November 23, 2009 12:28:55 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net, ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Genachowski: Spectrum Crisis Not Immediate, But   
> Planning For It Should Be

> > Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski says  
> > there is a looming spectrum crisis, but he appeared Friday to be  
> > trying to calm the waters a bit after several weeks of increasing  
> > alarm from broadcasters over FCC talks about reclaming their  
> > spectrum for wireless broadband.... "We know the problem is  
> > coming," he said, "It's not coming next week; it's not coming next  
> > month; it's not coming next year, but it is coming."
>
> Unfortunately, the Chairman is partially incorrect on this point.
>
> There is already a severe shortage -- one that might well be labeled  
> a crisis -- in the lack of availability of spectrum for fixed  
> wireless broadband service. WISPs serve more than a million accounts  
> throughput the nation, each of which may in turn serve dozens of  
> people. Given that the population of the US is approximately 300  
> million, this is substantial market share! However, to date, WISPs  
> have been relegated almost entirely to the unlicensed "junk" bands,  
> because the current auction regime has excluded them from the market  
> for licensed spectrum while allowing large players (such as Sprint/ 
> Nextel) to hoard the spectrum and keep it out of play.
>
> Most of the lobbying that is done inside the Beltway regarding  
> spectrum policy is done by groups representing mobile wireless  
> carriers -- in particular, CTIA and WCA -- and the Chairman seems to  
> be moving to placate those groups. But while mobile broadband is  
> convenient, its speed and capacity will never be adequate to satisfy  
> the demands of home users, who will expect faster access as well as  
> the ability to stream multiple video sources at once.
>
> Do we want a high capacity "third pipe" to the home? A "fourth  
> pipe?" An "nth pipe?" Do we want to be able to reach distant,  
> currently unserved rural areas with reliable service, delivered via  
> uncluttered spectrum? If we do, we need to act to ensure that  
> spectrum is released immediately for fixed wireless broadband. The  
> Chairman is right when he says that mobile can wait. But fixed  
> wireless which has an urgent and immediate need for spectrum that is  
> available to all players -- large and small -- through a regime that  
> does not allow it to be hoarded or place it out of the reach of  
> small entrepreneurs.
>
> --Brett Glass



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