Subcommittee Examines the Impending Spectrum Crunch
(Washington, DC) – Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing entitled, “Avoiding the Spectrum Crunch: Growing the Wireless Economy through Innovation.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine the issues surrounding the growing demand for spectrum, Federal research and development activities related to spectrum, and what can and should be done by the Federal government to increase the availability of spectrum for the commercial private sector.
In the context of the hearing, the term spectrum referred specifically to radio frequencies ranging from 3 kilohertz (kHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz), the part of the spectrum where all of our communication signals travel, including TV and radio broadcasts, cell phones, WiFi, GPS, weather radar, wireless medical devices, and more.
Ranking Member Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) said, “The U.S. has long been a leader in information and communication technologies, with the majority of the top firms being American companies. However, in a sector where it is all about the next big innovation, we can’t afford to rest on our past accomplishments. Wireless broadband is expected to trigger the next wave of innovation and holds enormous potential to create high-quality jobs and economic growth. For example, one estimate shows that providing an additional 300 megahertz of spectrum to wireless broadband uses will generate 300,000 new jobs and $230 billion in GDP within five years.”
Until recently, advanced technology has always kept slightly ahead of the demand for spectrum, enabling the same function to be performed at higher unused frequencies or increasing spectrum efficiency and re-using existing frequencies. However, as noted in a report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors on the economic benefits of wireless broadband, the dramatic rise in the number of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices increased the amount of wireless data traffic by more than a 100 percent between 2009 and 2010 and is expected to grow by a factor of 20 by 2015. Wireless carriers will not be able to meet this rapid rise in demand without access to additional spectrum. Since spectrum is a finite resource, additional spectrum can only be accessed by freeing up or sharing existing spectrum. New technologies will need to be developed in order to enable or facilitate the effective sharing of spectrum or allow for greater spectrum efficiency.
Ms. Edwards said, “Advances in research and development are central to the goal of freeing up spectrum for wireless broadband. Spectrum is a finite resource and, in order to improve its use, we need to develop innovative spectrum-sharing technologies that allow multiple users to share the same slice of spectrum without interference or degradation of services. Imagine a mobile device that has the ability to scan across the spectrum, identify frequencies that are currently available or not in use, and send its communication without delay. Spectrum could be fully and effectively utilized under this type of dynamic system, but it is only possible through advances in research, development and testing.”
She continued, “We need to ensure that the U.S. remains a leader in information technology, and wireless broadband is the key to making this happen. The U.S. is ranked 9th out of the OECD countries in relation to wireless broadband access. We need to do all that we can to ensure that the global ‘wireless revolution’ grows from American innovations and benefits American companies.”
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