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Most Recent PostsBundling Spectrum
Via Katy Bachman of Ad Week, some members of Congress are stepping in to help alleviate the spectrum crunch. As Bachman writes:
Hoping to take up the slack, House Energy & Commerce members Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) today introduced a bill (the Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act) that would require the FCC to run a bigger auction by bundling broadcast spectrum with spectrum from the federal government used by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.
The legislation was introduced one day after Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and ranking member Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) launched a bipartisan federal spectrum working group to examine how the federal government can use the nation’s airwaves more efficiently.
With wireless providers pointing out that the FCC’s current course for incentive auctions — welcome and necessary as they are — will be unable to keep up with demand, exploring ways to expand the pool of available spectrum is critical. This is a good first step.
