Home Page ContentPress Releases Repurposing Spectrum from Federal Use to Commercial Use – Important Objective of New Bill in Congress, States 4G Americas

Repurposing Spectrum from Federal Use to Commercial Use – Important Objective of New Bill in Congress, States 4G Americas

by david.nunes

Repurposing Spectrum from Federal Use

to Commercial Use – Important Objective

of New Bill in Congress, States 4G

Americas

 

 

BELLEVUE, Wash. –  4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of wireless technologies including HSPA and LTE mobile broadband, commends Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) for introducing a new bill that addresses the ideal solution for mobile broadband spectrum in the 1755 – 1780 MHz band by repurposing these bands from federal use to commercial use. In the Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act of 2012, the Stearns-Matsui bill calls for pairing this band with the internationally harmonized block of spectrum at 2155 – 2180 MHz, which the U.S. government has already identified for auction for mobile broadband by February 2015.

 

“The U.S. has more mobile connections than people, has more minutes of use than anywhere in the world, and has the largest market share of mobile broadband users and data usage – we are leaders in mobile technology today,” stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “This leadership will not continue without more spectrum. Mobile network operators already are estimated to be at 80 percent of network capacity in the U.S. and exponential growth is anticipated for data services. Help for the U.S. spectrum crisis is offered in this bill, pairing 1755 – 1780 MHz, with the spectrum that is already available and ready for auction in 2015, in the 2155 – 2180 MHz band for international harmonization.”

 

4G Americas applauds the Members for keeping focused on this critical block of spectrum.  Freeing up the 1755 – 1780 MHz band is key to the U.S. maintaining its leadership in mobile broadband, particularly because this spectrum is the last available uplink band in the U.S. that is paired with 2155 – 2180 MHz in the internationally harmonized band plan. Additionally, the 1755 – 1780 MHz band, which the Departments of Commerce and Defense have said could be cleared of many systems in five years, has been estimated by analysts to be worth $12-$13 billion when paired with 2155 – 2180 MHz and auctioned. This is a valuable resource for many reasons, including raising billions of auction dollars for our national treasury and a necessary step to get spectrum brought quickly online for Americans to retain the benefit of wireless connectivity and boost the economy.

 

 

 

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, Wash., with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.

 

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