In less than a month from now, the FCC will deliver a National Broadband Plan to Congress and the President, which may include a way to free up additional spectrum for wireless broadband services.
The lack of additional airwaves has been a concern as more consumers adopt smartphones and access the internet while on the go. In September, Blair Levin, the FCC’s top broadband official, said: “The demand curves from uses like smartphones suggest it’s going to increase dramatically, for spectrum…there is not enough of it.”
Now, there’s the beginnings of a plan: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said today at a broadband event hosted by the New America Foundation that it will encourage broadcasters to voluntarily give up unused blocks of spectrum in return for a share of the typically very lucrative auction proceeds. The plan is expected to be unveiled on March 16.
Reuters reports that Genachowski is arguing that the plan could work given that “the highly valuable spectrum currently allocated for broadcast television is not being used efficiently—indeed, much is not being used at all.” (Full speech here.)
The goal would be to free up 500 megahertz, which is in line with the amount the Department of Commerce proposed in President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget proposal. Clearly, broadcasters are not using all of the spectrum allotted to them. Of the 300 megahertz of spectrum set aside for broadcasters, only 36 megahertz are typically used in markets with less than 1 million people, and only about 100 megahertz are used in cities with more than 1 million people. He said: “Even in our very largest cities, at most only about 150 megahertz out of 300 megahertz are used.”
While Sprint (NYSE: S) and Verizon Wireless likely have enough spectrum for their 4G roll-outs, carriers like T-Mobile USA, are less fortunate. In Sept., T-Mobile USA asked lawmakers to allow the FCC to sell airwaves to them that were initially designated for police officers and firefighters. That chunk of spectrum failed to be successfully sold in the last auction. It’s still unclear what that fate is of that block.