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Posted: 02/07/12 by Mobile Future Team
State regulators have gathered from across the country this week for the winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) here in Washington. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter participated on a lively panel exploring the exploding demand for mobile connectivity, and what a predicted spectrum crunch means for consumers and the nation’s economy.
Consider the benefits of mobile broadband: constant and instant connectivity with people around the world in the palm of your hand. Near limitless possibilities for innovation and investment. In the U.S., one of the crucial benefits of wireless is the impact on the economy. Researchers Robert Shapiro and KevinHassett concluded that transitions from early wireless networks to more advanced 3G and 4G technology led to some 1.5 million new jobs from April 2007 to June 2011. For every additional 10% increase in adoption of 3G and 4G technologies, 231,000 new jobs may be added in less than a year. Plus, with an additional 500 MHz of spectrum for mobile, the Analysis Group conservatively estimates that we can create 500,000 American jobs and add $400 billion to the nation’s GDP. Spectrum is the lifeblood of wireless, becoming more and more vital to our economy and how we conduct our everyday lives.
No one wants to go back to the days of the ‘busy signal.’ If we don’t reallocate more spectrum for wireless now, the capacity constraints could wreak havoc on the consumer experience - more dropped calls, stalled apps, and slow mobile Internet connections. State and federal regulators alike need to support policies that help get spectrum to those who need it the most – the 300 million wireless consumers.
So what can state policymakers do? Some states have the authority to review secondary market transactions within their state. Timely approval of thosetransactions is necessary so providers can swiftly make the best use of thespectrum that is available to them. Additionally, state regulators can help educate local municipalities. Acting as a resource on the capacity constraints of wireless networks may help to smooth tower siting approvals so providers can build out and expand their networks, allowing consumers to continue to enjoy unfettered access to mobile broadband.
State regulators should also encourage their federal counterparts to act now to free more spectrum for mobile. Congress is working on federal legislation authorizing the FCC to conduct incentive auctions and we strongly urge them to enact legislation quickly. As Jonathan said yesterday, “we need to stop playing games; it can take seven to 10 years to put any new spectrum into not only the pipeline but into commercial deployment. We don’t have time to waste.”
Consumers are demanding a mobile future. Policymakers must act now on these opportunities, before the spectrum crunch becomes a reality and millions of Americans are left waiting for many of the advantages mobile broadband can offer.
Posted: 11/17/11
Read Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter’s column in The Wall Street Journal explaining why we need to repurpose broadcast spectrum to meet growing mobile demand here.
Posted: 11/15/11 by Mobile Future Team
Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter sent a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction urging the Committee to call for voluntary spectrum auctions to meet growing consumer demand, reduce the deficit and spur lasting economic recovery and job creation.
To learn more, click here.
Posted: 09/22/11 by Jonathan Spalter
In the upcoming election year, virtually every American will be a 'single-issue voter,' going to the ballot box with the nation's economy and their own job prospects top of mind. It's critical that leaders on both sides of the partisan divide recognize that U.S. mobile policy is a poster-child for just the sort of forward momentum the President and leaders in Congress are seeking to gather to get the nation back on a healthy and sustainable job growth track.
President Obama and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski have amassed a strong track record in support of mobile innovation, which today puts 2.4 million Americans to work. The crown jewel of these efforts has been their press for more spectrum to power the next wave of mobile Internet-fueled growth.
And, particularly with the Department of Justice's recent aggressive stance with regard to the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, all eyes are on what comes next: Will U.S. innovation policies become more restrictive or continue to build on the proven success of consumer-guided progress coupled with light-touch regulation? As we look for answers that can create jobs and drive innovation, here are five key questions to watch:
Will consumers get more spectrum for the mobile Internet? President Obama and Chairman Genachowski are right to make today's spectrum crunch a national priority. A recent report by Credit Suisse finds that U.S. wireless networks run at 80% of capacity on a typical day, well above our global competitors. And, this isn't a race we want to win. Analysis by Peter Rysavy finds that without additional spectrum, U.S. wireless networks will run out of capacity within four years. There is no higher innovation policy priority than averting such a disastrous--and avoidable--outcome.
Will policymakers make the connection between spectrum and jobs? If the President is successful in his push for an additional 500 MHz of spectrum to support the mobile Internet, we can create 500,000 American jobs and add $400 billion to the nation's GDP. And, that forecast doesn't include the biggest job creator of all--the 'X-factor' of the next Facebook or Google--that will inevitably arise out of a more spectrum-rich environment. All the government needs to do to nurture this growth (and raise billions in auction proceeds for the U.S. Treasury) is put more spectrum up for sale.
Will the markets see a balanced outcome for AT&T/T-Mo? The Department of Justice's challenge to the AT&T-T-Mobile merger has been met with pointed expressions of concern from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Matt Murphy of respected Sand Hill Road VC firm Kleiner Perkins noted the move has put tech investment "in stalemate mode." The Administration is right to ask tough questions about the merger. But its ability to avoid a protracted court battle and deliver a timely and constructive outcome will signal to the markets that a steady hand is at the economic helm.
Will regulators' definition of competition keep pace with the market? Even with a combined AT&T/T-Mo, American consumers have far more choices for their mobile service than most of our country's leading global competitors. Many other benchmarks must come into play to get a true gauge of competition. Case in point: The recent revelation that Sprint, with its Clearwire assets, has more spectrum holdings in an average city than both Verizon and a combined AT&T and T-Mobile. This puts into a whole new light Sprint's vocal objections to the merger on the grounds that its market rival doesn't need more spectrum. Clearly, it does to compete.
Will jobs policy value the role of small tech entrepreneurs? Over the past 15 years, small firms created 64% of new jobs in this country.[1] In the tech industry, 40% of workers are employed by small businesses. Without adequate spectrum, these innovators won't have the opportunity to create the next best thing--or the jobs that come with it.
At the beginning of the year, President Obama used his State of the Union address to call on policymakers to "make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans." Now is the time for our leaders--in the Administration and on Capitol Hill--to take concrete steps to make good on that promise and send a clear signal to the market that U.S. innovation policy will remain steady, balanced and constructive. They should start by recognizing that our nation's jobs policy and our innovation policy must be one and the same.
Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future, has been founding CEO of leading technology, media, and research companies, including Public Insight, Snocap, and Atmedica Worldwide. He served as an advisor to and spokesperson for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration.
Mobile Future is a 501(c)(4) coalition comprised of and supported by technology businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to advocating for an environment in which innovations in wireless technology and services are enabled and encouraged. For a full list of members and sponsors and to learn more about the coalition, go to www.mobilefuture.org.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 08/02/11 by Jonathan Spalter
As the dust settles around the debt ceiling debate, there is broad hope that our nation's leaders continue to focus in a constructive way on getting our fiscal house in order. While recent debate centered around whether we raise taxes or cut government programs, too little discussion has focused on what it will take to support the most powerful engine of lasting and sustainable economic recovery and job creation--the private sector.
Much attention has rightly noted the promise of the mobile Internet to be a catalyst for an economic turnaround. This week, Mobile Future released fresh analysis to support this claim. The paper, authored by David Sosa and Marc Van Audenrode of the Analysis Group, explores some of the key positive economic impacts, including job creation, associated with achieving the Federal Communications Commission's objective of making an additional 500 MHz of spectrum available to support expansion of the mobile Internet.
The report calculates the economic benefits of policymakers making more spectrum available to support mobile Internet expansion. Among the key findings:
- 500 MHz of spectrum = 500,000 U.S. Jobs. Reassigning 300 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband within five years will create 300,000 Americans jobs. Adding another 200 MHz of spectrum after five years, and we'll create 200,000 more direct and indirect jobs from supporting and expanding today's innovations alone.
- 300,000 Added Jobs for Every 1% Increase in Internet Penetration. Increased spectrum will allow even more Americans to use wireless broadband, bringing us closer to President Obama's goal of 98% of Americans having access to the mobile Internet within five years. Many companies and entrepreneurs will use that added connectivity to start or expand their businesses, creating 300,000 jobs for every 1 percent increase in broadband penetration.
- Nearly $400B in GDP Growth. Similarly, more robust mobile Internet means more robust consumer usage and business reliance of innovative new connected tools. The paper estimates that an addition 300 MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband will add $230 billion to U.S. GDP. The second wave of 200 MHz of new spectrum will bring another $155 billion, the analysts find.
- $75B in Direct Network Investment. The report also estimates that mobile Internet providers will spend north of $75 billion to put this additional spectrum to use for their customers through expansions and upgrades of their networks. This investment has a ripple effect that triggers increased spending and job creation, for example, by companies that build and manufacture supplies for these networks.
- 500,000 Jobs = Tip of the Iceberg. Perhaps the most stunning estimate in the whole report is the upfront observation that what the analysts can't predict is likely larger in scale than what it can. Just 3 years ago, we had never heard of an "app." Today, U.S. consumers can access nearly 1 million mobile apps from 26 competing app stores. The authors are respectably conservative in their upfront acknowledgement that they cannot credibly forecast the next Facebook or Google. But they make clear that with additional spectrum for the mobile Internet that it's coming and the impact is likely more significant than the tangible progress they can document today. These so-called 'spillover effects' from innovations that can be foreseen today are likely to exceed "by a considerable margin" the author's other findings of economic growth and job creation.
The risks associated with the debt ceiling debate were cast as one economic challenge our nation's policymakers could readily avoid through timely action. In a much more constructive way, making more spectrum available to fuel healthy, robust expansion of the mobile Internet is another positive step that policymakers can make today. The action doesn't focus on preventing economic calamity. Instead it emphasizes building for the future. It focuses on giving this wide ecosystem of mobile innovation--from applications developers to gadget makers to carriers and the millions of entrepreneurs who leverage mobile connectivity to expand their diverse businesses.
Timely action to ensure a healthy and expanding mobile Internet gives all of these companies--and the many game-changing businesses yet to come--the greatest possible shot at creating good-paying jobs and healthy, real and sustainable economic growth. After all the energy devoted to avoid default, it's time to put that same determination behind a concrete roadmap for genuine recovery--and the leadership and global competitiveness that must be our shared, ultimate objective in a connected world.
Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future, has been founding CEO of leading technology, media, and research companies, including Public Insight, Snocap, and Atmedica Worldwide. He served as an advisor to and spokesperson for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration.
Mobile Future is a 501(c)(4) coalition comprised of and supported by technology businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to advocating for an environment in which innovations in wireless technology and services are enabled and encouraged. For a full list of members and sponsors and to learn more about the coalition, go to www.mobilefuture.org.
Follow Jonathan Spalter on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mobilefuture
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 07/15/11 by Jonathan Spalter
Official Washington already is slugging-it out in the inside-baseball of the next presidential election. But tech policy circles are pouring over the details of another closely watched horserace--the Federal Communications Commission's annual analysis of the competitive nature of the U.S. wireless market. With every manner of mobile device now bursting from our pockets and the airwaves awash in ads from a range of companies competing for our wireless dollars, the answer is fairly obvious. Nevertheless, the Commission this year provided a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the many yardsticks that combine to deliver a thriving, innovative and competitive mobile marketplace.
The report comes not a moment too soon as both Congress and the White House take up the urgent need to make more spectrum available to support U.S. consumers' fast-expanding appetite for wireless connectivity. With spectrum legislation circulating in both the House and Senate, tomorrow in the latest in a series of hearings, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will examine long-term spectrum solutions for our nation.
As it does so, the 300-plus page FCC report makes a powerful case for continuing the rapid progress of the mobile Internet--and the perils for policymakers who don't keep pace with their connected constituents.
Among the highlights:
- 9 out of 10 Americans Have Mobile Internet Choice. 92% of Americans have a choice of wireless broadband providers and 82% have at least three options for mobile Internet, according to the FCC report. And, we're choosing to connect. A majority of U.S. mobile device sales are now smartphones, and a recent analysis forecasts that our country will be the first where a majority of citizens own smartphones. We're at 38% today.
- Device Options Abound. Another key metric is the number of devices consumers have to choose from here in the U.S. In four years, the number of wireless handset makers in the U.S. market rose from 8 to 21, according to the FCC. In June 2010, just 10 device makers offered 144 smartphones, nearly triple the number available just one year before. Next up? All the tablets we're now adding into the mix. Already they're in 13% of American households.
- Rivalries Spark Vigorous CAPEX. Over the past five years, investment in U.S. wireless networks has held steady in the $20-$25 billion range annually--despite a challenging economy. This is a strong indicator that competitors are feeling the need for ever-stronger networks to keep and attract customers. Last December, according to the FCC report, MetroPCS became the first U.S. provider to launch an LTE network, followed by Verizon Wireless. AT&T has plans to launch this year. If the FCC is successful in making more spectrum available, this investment is likely to continue at a vigorous pace to the benefit of consumers and our recovering economy.
- A Crowded Field. Today, there are nearly 100 national, regional and niche wireless providers competing for U.S. customers, the report finds. And more choices are on the way. Last July, Harbinger Capital Partners announced plans to build an LTE network under the name LightSquared that could provide coverage to at least 100 million Americans by the end of 2012. By 2015, LightSquared hopes to provide coverage to at least 260 million, just behind Verizon, AT&T and Sprint-Nextel. Even with the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, Americans will have 5 national competing wireless providers to choose from, not to mention regional carriers throughout the country.
- Apps Competition Powers Growth. According to the FCC's report, U.S. consumers can now access nearly 1 million mobile apps from 26 competing app stores. In fact, Americans now spend more time using apps than surfing the Internet. A few years ago, the apps market didn't exist. By 2015, the "apps economy" is projected to generate $38 billion in sales, with real jobs and economic opportunities flowing primarily to the U.S.
Competition, choice, innovation and growth all rely on the same thing--more spectrum and more infrastructure. As Washington seeks to close the budget gap, the public revenues that would be generated by making more spectrum available to support mobile Internet expansion are a win-win for consumers and our economy, and for America's competitive position in the world. While consumers vote in the marketplace today--soon they will vote for the policymakers who have a big say in what the next chapter of mobile innovation will look like for our nation. Rest assured that connected consumers--90% of whom reportedly sleep with their mobile device--will vote early and vote often.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 06/30/11 by Jonathan Spalter
In the nation's capital we are beginning to see movement on a critical issue for U.S. wireless consumers with a voracious appetite for innovative mobile services, products and devices -- initial steps to address the coming mobile capacity crunch.
As the mercury rises in the nation's capital, it's not just leaders from Capitol Hill to the White House to the Federal Communications Commission who are calling for timely action on the spectrum exhaustion our nation faces. A broad array of influential voices are now stepping forward to make clear the high and shared stake -- for our economy, consumers and American innovation -- of ensuring the wireless web can continue to keep pace with fast-expanding consumer demand.
Here are four key highlights for those keeping score at home:
Network engineers sound the alarm. According to a study by Rysavy Research commissioned by Mobile Future, "capacity will not be able, absent additional spectrum, to meet the data demands of consumers in three to four years if consumers use the applications they desire." The clock is ticking and much bolder moves are needed now by the government to help free up more spectrum for connected consumers. In my view, the AT&T-T-Mobile merger is an important step in easing the spectrum crunch through market-based mechanisms. That said, it's a dangerous myth to assume one business merger -- even one of this magnitude -- can "solve" the spectrum shortage.
Top U.S. tech companies back robust wireless networks. Three years ago, we'd never heard the word "app." Today, wireless consumers can choose from nearly 1 million of them--sold by 26 competing online stores. By 2015, the "apps economy" is forecast to climb to $38 billion. That's real jobs and economic opportunities flowing primarily to the U.S. No surprise then that leading U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo, recently weighed in with the FCC that "an increasingly robust and efficient wireless network is part of a virtuous innovation cycle and a healthy wireless ecosystem is an important part of our global competitiveness."
Key technology investors urge timely fix. From helping grow the economy to keeping up with consumers and innovators, we must have reliable and fast mobile connectivity. That's why prominent venture capital firms also took the rare step of weighing in with the FCC, both in support of the merger and the broader spectrum effort. "The greatest opportunity for economic growth involves wireless broadband and mobile devices," they wrote. "But this great growth opportunity faces a major impediment with the looming prospect of 'spectrum exhaust.'"
Key groups link to digital divide. In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for 98 percent of Americans to have access to the mobile Internet within five years. That would be a significant milestone for our economy and for closing the digital divide. Mobile broadband opens doors for all Americans -- from helping a blind person walk down the street with voice-activated directions to assisting people living with chronic illnesses in managing their health. Too often overlooked in the debates, African Americans and Hispanics lead the nation in cell phone ownership and wireless Internet use, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. So important is the mobile Internet that 14 national Latino groups co-signed a letter stating that "this merger could provide opportunities to achieve many of these objectives by bringing the possibility of faster, smarter wireless networks to more Hispanics, further shrinking the digital divide."
Spectrum is a complex debate. Even more true, it's an essential one to get right today. Congress is starting to move on spectrum legislation, but the clock is ticking. Today, we see a rising tide of voices -- innovators, entrepreneurs, capital investors and community representatives -- joining the call for spectrum now. The question that remains is will Washington answer -- and do so in time to keep the mobile future bright, healthy and growing for us all.
Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future, has been founding CEO of leading technology, media, and research companies, including Public Insight, Snocap, and Atmedica Worldwide. He served as an advisor to and spokesperson for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration.
Mobile Future is a 501(c)(4) coalition comprised of and supported by technology businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to advocating for an environment in which innovations in wireless technology and services are enabled and encouraged. For a full list of members and sponsors and to learn more about the coalition, go to www.mobilefuture.org.
Follow Jonathan Spalter on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mobilefuture
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 05/18/11 by Mobile Future Team
Our nation has an extraordinary appetite for wireless products, data, and services across a dizzying array of applications and devices. The massive growth of internet mobility, however, is quickly exceeding the available wireless spectrum, the invisible infrastructure that powers the mobile ecosystem.
We at Mobile Future have outlined the serious impacts sharply increasing data consumption will have on networks if additional wireless spectrum is not made available soon in this Spectrum: Fueling the Mobile Future Video.
Key highlights from the video include:
- By 2012, more than half of all new phones purchased will be smartphones.
- A smartphone uses 24x more spectrum than a feature phone. An iPad uses 120x more.
- By 2014, 70% of all consumer electronics will be wirelessly connected to the Internet.
- If we don’t allocate more spectrum for mobile, our nation’s appetite for wireless will out-strip capacity as early as 2014.
To watch the video, go here.
Posted: 05/05/11 by Jonathan Spalter
Washington has been predictably (and rightly) consumed by increasingly urgent warnings of an imminent mobile capacity crunch. The calls for timely action come from the highest levels of both technology and policy circles, and they have set off a classically byzantine inside-Washington debate over allocation of spectrum—the invisible infrastructure that makes all wireless connectivity possible.
Formidable interests lie on both sides of the debate. In one corner stands the powerful broadcast lobby with its ready access to the local airwaves in Congressional districts across the country. Broadcasters sit atop a large swath of spectrum they neither completely need nor use for the small percentage of Americans that rely on over the air broadcast television.
In the other corner stands the mobile innovation community, which urgently needs more spectrum to support consumers’ enthusiastic embrace of the mobile Internet. Of the nation’s 300 million wireless consumers, 90% feel so strongly about their mobile device that they keep it within arms’ reach 24 hours a day.
Pressing down on it all is a new world order driven by rapidly advancing innovation and barrier-breaking consumer choices. The latest evidence: For the first time in two decades, the number of U.S. homes with televisions has declined, and Nielsen is now contemplating redefining the term “television households” to include online-only viewing as it grapples with the challenge of TV ratings in a digital world.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has wisely opted to stay above the political fray and seek the high ground of a ‘third way’ to unlock continued expansion of the mobile Internet. He’s calling for ‘incentive auctions,’ under which broadcasters voluntarily step forward, offer their spectrum for auction or relocate to a different channel and share the multi-billion-dollar spoils with the U.S. Treasury (which desperately needs the funds to help close the budget gap). Broadcasters would net a profit (off spectrum they were granted for free). Over-the-air television viewers would be seamlessly accommodated. And, the mobile Internet boom would continue.
It’s an innovative approach. What few predicted, however, was the response of some broadcasters to it. Rather than advocating for the most favorable terms possible, they have opted to deny the rapid expansion of the mobile Internet and the urgent need for timely action to ensure the connectivity we’ve all come to rely on doesn’t come to a grinding halt or, more accurately, slow to an excruciating crawl.
Here are three key facts every mobile consumer should know:
- You need more spectrum. It’s simple math. The average smartphone uses 25x the capacity of a basic feature cell phone. The average tablet device uses 5x the data of a smartphone. Already today there are more smartphones sold in the U.S. than personal computers, and we are just beginning to see what these devices can do to benefit our lives and our economy.
- Time is of the essence. According to a recent analysis for Mobile Future by Rysavy Research, consumer demand for spectrum could outstrip supply in as little as three to four years’ time. We have to act now to identify and begin the time-consuming process of making more spectrum available for wireless consumers and building the infrastructure that will get it into timely use.
- The alternative is unacceptable (and easily avoided). Efficiency efforts and strategic mergers will help, but they alone won’t close the gap. We are either headed for a world of scarcity, increasing the likelihood of higher prices, rationed services, slower service and other unappealing options, or policymakers take action very soon to support the broad public interest in a robust and continually expanding mobile Internet.
The details of the spectrum debate at times can seem inscrutable and abstract to all but the most ardent of policy wonks. But the stakes for consumers and our economy couldn’t be more plainly evident to anyone who’s ever rolled their eyes at a dropped connection or drummed their fingers at an unusually long load time.
Addressing the coming spectrum crunch is a daunting political challenge for Washington. Yet it is one we as a nation cannot afford to delay or deny. At stake is not only the fate of the Internet in the palm of our hands, but the competitiveness of our nation in an increasingly connected and mobile world.
Broadcasters are indeed holding a powerful hand. It’s high time they play it. Debating the terms of the spectrum transition is a constructive path forward. Denial is neither a sound strategy nor an effective way forward.
This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.
Posted: 04/04/11 by Jonathan Spalter
As Americans across the country turn to their mobile devices to track the final brackets of the NCAA college basketball tournament, technology policy circles are turning to a high-stakes game of their own: The need to move quickly and decisively to unlock additional spectrum to meet the fast-growing demands of our connected society and economy.
At stake is the rapid innovation, economic growth and huge quality of life leaps being made at the intersection of mobile connectivity and the increasingly diverse ways we put it to use. Modern life is being transformed by the power of the Internet in the palms of our hands.
The trajectory of our mobile usage is advancing at warp speed. Cell phones have advanced to smartphones, which are now diversifying to tablets. Many of us choose an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy, incorporating an array of beloved and increasingly essential connected gadgetry into our personal and professional lives.
As consumers, we take this uber-connectivity for granted. But tough decisions and timely leadership are needed right now in Washington to ensure quality connectivity remains the case.
The nation’s airwaves support various types of wireless connectivity, from smartphones and iPads to baby monitors, ham radios and non-digital television. In geek speak, we call this resource spectrum, ‘invisible infrastructure’. Over the years, spectrum use has dramatically evolved, with hundreds of millions of new mobile consumers craving faster, robust wireless services that connect virtually every device they touch. Unfortunately, while consumer demand is increasing, the amount of spectrum available to deliver mobile broadband is not.
When more spectrum needed for one use, inevitably various interests will throw a few elbows as they jostle for precious real estate. Policymakers must step in as the referees to determine how best to put this limited resource to its most public-spirited use.
Today, the White House and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski are leading the charge to free up more spectrum for mobile broadband. The Chairman is also rightly conveying a growing sense of urgency, warning that ‘the clock is ticking on our mobile future.’
Here’s why: As consumers trade up from basic feature cell phones to smart phones, their mobile Internet usage increases 30-fold. As millions of us add iPads and other tablets into the mix, these video-friendly devices use five times the data of today’s smartphones. Consumer demand for mobile Internet shows no sign of abating, which means more spectrum must be made available soon to meet their growing needs.
Politically, the issue currently pits broadcasters, who were given vast spectrum assets decades ago, against the mobile innovation community, which urgently needs more capacity today. Broadcasters claim as their base the 42 million Americans who continue to use over-the-air television. The innovation community claims 300 million wireless consumers—90% of whom are so devoted to their mobile device that they keep it within arms' reach 24 hours a day.
Chairman Genachowski is challenging all sides to rise above the fray by championing the idea of ‘incentive auctions.’ Under this approach, broadcasters would voluntarily hand over their spectrum assets to the government or move to another channel more efficiently using the spectrum, in exchange for a share of the auction proceeds. Broadcasters would get compensated, alongside the federal treasury, which desperately needs the revenues to close the current budget gap. And, those who pay top-dollar for the spectrum would face powerful market pressures to put it quickly to its greatest public use.
In the parlance of March Madness, the shot clock is running on our mobile connectivity. According to a new report released by Rysavy Research, rising consumer demand for mobile Internet could outstrip existing, allocated spectrum capacity in as little as four years. Most of us have had the occasional experience of a dropped call or missed connection. It’s not something we want to see become a routine occurrence. The good news? The wireless community stands ready to make the massive investment needed to put additional spectrum to use for consumers and our economy. We simply need to push now to get the process underway.
This puts the ball squarely in Washington’s court. Consumers should be able to take mobile connectivity for granted. But policymakers cannot. Over the coming weeks and months, Washington technology policy circles will be consumed by the details of the playbook. But on the quiet of the FCC’s eighth floor and in the halls of Congress, what can’t be lost in the debate is the roar of the crowd. We can’t afford to run down the clock on our mobile future. Policymakers must make their move now to unlock more spectrum for the wireless web and, with it, the next wave of American innovation.
This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.
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Tags: Congress, Consumer Awareness, Consumer Benefits, Innovation, Mobile Future, Mobile Future Board, Jonathan Spalter, News, Smartphone, Spectrum, Wireless Devices, Wireless Innovation, Looming Spectrum Crisis