4G Americas Applauds Agreement
between U.S. Defense Department and
Broadcasters
Obstacle Cleared for AWS-3 Spectrum Auction
BELLEVUE, Wash. – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) endorsed the repurposing of federal spectrum for commercial mobile broadband recommended by the private sector. NTIA’s letter will help to free up the valuable 1755-1780 MHz spectrum, allowing it to be paired with 2155-2180 MHz for use by the wireless industry as an invaluable resource for the deployment of mobile broadband LTE technology.
“The importance of the 1755-1780 MHz spectrum paired with 2155-2180 MHz cannot be underestimated, as it is an internationally harmonized spectrum asset,” stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “It is extremely encouraging to see cooperation and significant progress made between key government and industry stakeholders in bringing more spectrum to U.S. consumers.”
Freeing up the 1755-1780 MHz band is key to the U.S. maintaining its leadership in mobile broadband. This spectrum is the last available uplink band in the U.S. that can be paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band as recommended in the internationally-harmonized band plan. Proceeds from a paired auction will better meet the government’s goals of finding more spectrum for mobile broadband, deficit reduction, increasing public safety and funding Next Generation 9-1-1 services.
The proposed band arrangement was officially endorsed in a letter dated November 25 from Karl B. Nebbia, Associate Administrator of NTIA and head of the Office of Spectrum Management at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and addressed to Julius P. Knapp, Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology at the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The NTIA letter outlining the details of the spectrum agreement can be downloaded at www.ntia.doc.gov.
About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology
4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization’s mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the successful commercial rollout of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies across the Americas and their place as the No. 1 technology family in the region. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.
4G Americas’ Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, BlackBerry, Cable & Wireless, Cisco, CommScope, Entel, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Mavenir, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Openwave Mobility, Qualcomm, Rogers, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.
