Posted: 04/09/12 by Mobile Future Team
On Friday, Politico’s Kim Hart (subscription required) took a look at President Obama’s broadband agenda. With mobile innovation charging ahead, Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter urged the White House to lead on these critical issues and meet the goals of the National Broadband Plan to ensure the United States benefits from a bright mobile future.
To learn more, click here.
Posted: 02/13/12
Today, the Washington Post highlighted that President Obama’s federal budget for fiscal year 2013 is available to the public via mobile app. The Government Printing Office released the app this morning and provides users with important budget information such as the president’s budget message and spending overviews for federal agencies.
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: 09/12/11 by Mobile Future Team
The Obama Administration signaled its intention to include a measure to expand wireless coverage and increase mobile spectrum as part of the American Jobs Act. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter responded to the measure, stating:
“We applaud the President’s recognition of the crucial role mobile broadband can play in spurring job growth and boosting the nation’s economy. Recent data shows that making additional spectrum available for wireless will lead to 500,000 new jobs in America. We strongly encourage lawmakers to make more wireless spectrum available quickly to meet exploding consumer demand, fuel our technology-driven economy, and unleash investment and new economic opportunities.”
To read the full statement, go here.
Posted: 04/07/11 by Mobile Future Team
Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter attended the White House Summit,“Spectrum Auctions: Unlocking the Innovative Potential of Wireless Broadband,” where leaders in the technology sector, policymakers and top economists discussed how freeing up spectrum will benefit the economy, consumers and expand wireless coverage across the U.S.
In a statement released after the event, Spalter said:
“Today’s White House spectrum summit underscores the broad recognition that growing consumer demand for wireless technologies and mobile innovations are fundamentally transforming our nation’s economic future. Efficiently and responsibly making more spectrum available through incentive auctions is critical to help meet President Obama’s ambitious goal of expanding access to wireless broadband to 98 percent of Americans.”
To read the full statement, click here.
Posted: 02/14/11 by Jonathan Spalter
President Obama made a powerful, affirming speech to the innovation community at Northern Michigan University, laying out a bold roadmap for how he plans to achieve his goal to connect virtually all Americans to the wireless Internet in the next five years.
President Obama made clear that it's not government alone -- or even foremost -- that will connect a mobile nation. Companies large and small continue to make the capital investment and commit the resources that put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work laying the pipes and building the towers of the nation's next information frontier. From the garages of Silicon Valley to the corporate and academic technology labs, innovators are competing fiercely to create the next exciting breakthrough.
In his remarks, the President acknowledged that this profound innovation and growth is the key to future prosperity for our nation, and is yielding results both for consumers and for the economy.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has long (and rightly) evangelized on the merits of fact-based, data-driven policymaking. And the facts are that choice and competition define every corner of the modern mobile marketplace. Two-thirds of Americans can choose from among five or more wireless providers. The device market could not be more hotly contested right now. Consumers can add mobile Internet to their voice service for as little as $15 a month. And, they tell the FCC in no uncertain terms that they are satisfied with their wireless services with a 92% customer satisfaction rating.
With his focus on the mobile Internet, President Obama is building from a strong base. Six out of 10 Americans now use a wireless device to access the Internet. As early as 2014, more people may go online via mobile devices than PCs. And, if the priority is digital inclusion, President Obama has squarely hit his mark. Roughly two-thirds of African-Americans and Latinos are wireless Internet users -- and one in three connect daily. Even low-income Americans are finding cost-effective ways to access the mobile web, showing an 8% growth in wireless Internet use this past year.
All of these trends clearly indicate the intensity of competition and the value it delivers every day to a diverse array of Americans. The task for government now should be to encourage this progress -- both in word and in deed -- and do what is necessary to promote investment and growth for mobile and other innovation sectors.
The President gets it. Last month, he ordered a sweeping review of federal regulations with an eye toward easing undue burdens "that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs." If ever there was a poster-child for the profound expansion and job creation such a perspective could trigger, it is the jaw-dropping growth and innovation we have all borne witness too in recent years with wireless. From day one, Congress made the decision to let a competitive dynamic guide the marketplace. They showed rightful restraint, and we all are the beneficiaries of that decision.
As President Obama works to ensure a constructive government climate for economic growth, he's right to focus early, significant attention on wireless. In the toughest economic times the nation has seen in decades, broadband innovators -- including wireless -- have led private capital investment in the U.S. economy. Only the history books will know what true progress comes from this initiative. But if the President's wireless program is successful, one of its greatest innovations won't be a hip device or cool app, but a powerful new model for forward-looking policy in this country that unites the interests of consumers, innovators and our economy, so we can grow as we should -- together.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 02/10/11 by Mobile Future Team
President Obama today announced a new Expanded Wireless Access Initiative intended to help achieve his goal of increasing high speed wireless coverage to 98% of Americans. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter responded to the Initiative, stating:
“President Obama’s Expanded Wireless Access Initiative is a testament to the tremendous role mobile technology plays when it comes to achieving the Administration’s goals of “out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world.”
“We appreciate President Obama’s leadership in creating an unprecedented Administration-wide focus on expanding access to high speed broadband for Americans. The wireless sector is already evolving at an astounding pace and this initiative sets the course for the next wave of mobile opportunities with even more economic growth and continued job creation. While today’s announcement is yet another big step in the right direction, it’s critical that the President and his Administration do all they can to maintain an environment that encourages investment and innovation in today’s highly competitive wireless eco-system."
To read the full statement, click here.
Posted: 02/02/11 by Jonathan Spalter
Winning the future, the theme of the State of the Union address, called for "out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world." President Obama rightly emphasized wireless broadband as a crucial building block for a winning economy.
After declaring this our country's "Sputnik moment," the president went on to declare a bold and ambitious goal that "within the next five years, we'll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn't just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age." Given the transformative power of mobile broadband, this is a timely goal.
Leading up to the State of the Union, the president recognized the widespread discontent from the private sector regarding overregulation, as well as the urgency for elected officials to help get Americans working again in a 21st century economy that preserves America's place at the forefront of innovation and ingenuity. In his recent op ed published in the Wall Street Journal, President Obama said the key to generating more jobs will be striking the right balance between protecting consumers and nurturing business growth.
The President walked the walk last week, signing an executive order mandating federal agencies to identify and remove outdated regulations that may be "placing unreasonable burdens on business -- burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs."
Innovation by definition is the development of new products, services and methods that affect people on a daily basis and aim to improve quality of life. With innovation at its core, the mobile ecosystem has defied norms and expectations during a time of economic recovery. Last year, mobile trends revealed that consumers did not tighten their purse strings when it came to their pursuit of wireless devices. In fact, mobile had its best year ever, with an explosion in consumer usage across a dizzying array of applications, services and social media platforms. Mobile companies returned the love by continuing to invest more than $20 billion annually despite the economic downturn.
Today's mobile revolution (i.e., that smartphone you can't put down) is largely rooted in Congress' 1993 decision to embrace a pro-innovation framework that favored competition over regulation. Even through revolving Democratic and Republican majorities in Washington, mobile has thrived due to constructive, bipartisan policies that showed rare regulatory restraint and allowed consumers and innovators to shape and direct its progress. As a result, mobile innovation accounts for 2.4 million U.S. jobs and contributes $100 billion annually to U.S. GDP.
In the State of the Union, President Obama reminded us that "the rules have changed." Thirty years ago, we couldn't know that the Internet would spark an economic revolution, nor could we have known just a few years ago that mobile technology would transform the very nature of American innovation.
Mobile entrepreneurs are pushing the envelope every day to develop new products and services that keep pace with consumer demand. But these leading-edge technologies of tomorrow won't make their way to consumers without more wireless capacity. The federal government's ability to identify and bring additional spectrum to the market is a key policy issue that both techies and policymakers are tracking closely.
When we envision winning the future, mobile broadband is leading the way. It is revolutionizing how we do business, socialize, educate and interact as a democracy. As President Obama pointed out,
"It's about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It's about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor."
Now more than ever, we need policies that preserve and advance the investment and innovation that keep all of this progress flowing to consumers and throughout our society.
If we look to history as our guide, the message is clear: Innovation is what drives our economy and our society to new heights. President Obama should be commended for calling the nation to the cause on Tuesday night. And, I do believe, we will rise to the occasion. Sputnik, after all, may have won the race to space. But it was American ingenuity and ambition that put a man on the moon.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 01/26/11 by Mobile Future Team
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama committed to setting policies that promote mobile investment and innovation, stating “within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans.” More details are still to come, but this is a great recognition of the key role that wireless plays in connecting the nation and spurring economic growth.
Here are the president’s comments on wireless from the speech:
“Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn’t just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.”
Posted: 10/07/10 by Mobile Future Team
President Obama will sign The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act tomorrow- updating the Americans With Disabilities Act while emphasizing the important role new telecom technologies have had on those with disabilities. The act will not only increase the use of closed captioning on the internet, but it will also upgrade the way emergency information is communicated. To read more about how wireless technology can improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, click here.
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Tags: Broadband, Consumer Awareness, Consumer Benefits, Innovation, Mobile Future, Mobile Future Board, Jonathan Spalter, News, President Obama, Spectrum, White House, Wireless Innovation