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President Obama looking to raise $4.8 billion with wireless spectrum fees

By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 11:25 AM
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Photo credit:White House photographer Pete Souza

In a move that underscores the US’s need for radical economic policies and philosophical change (yes, we can), President Obama and his team of financial wizards are calling for fees on the airwaves used by wireless carriers in the US. The White House released a $3.9 trillion budget today, which includes provisions to levy fees on any entity holding wireless spectrum licenses.

The US has been auctioning off wireless spectrum licenses since the 1990′s, essentially granting exclusive broadcast rights to any companies with the cash to snatch up a particular swath of wireless frequencies. Spectrum auctions have generated billions upon billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government, but the finite supply of spectrum real-estate is quickly becoming scarce. Facing the prospect of reduced revenue from such auctions, it seems President Obama is trying to revive a years-old initiative to charge spectrum licensees a fee for their wireless spectrum assets.

The proposal isn’t new to Capitol Hill veterans. Spectrum fees have been opposed in the past, and there’s little reason to believe that such fees will be approved without much opposition. The silver-lining this time around may lie in the Democrat-controlled Congress that might be more willing to align themselves with President Obama’s plans for change in the US.

“We are currently reviewing the details of the proposal and look forward to participating in the next stages of this issue,” stated cellular industry trade association CTIA. The nation’s Big Four wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile) declined to comment, citing the preliminary budget’s lack of details on the proposed spectrum license fees.

Here’s the little we know about the President’s new wireless revenue proposal:

  • Fees will generate up to $4.8 billion in revenue
  • Spectrum auctions will generate $1.4 billion
  • Seeks Congress’s approval to auction domestic satellite spectrum worth $200 million

In the face of a multi-trillion national debt and seemingly carefree stimulus spending, Obama’s push for few billions in revenue from spectrum fees looks like small beans. But, given enough beans, you can make some mighty tasty chilli!

[Via: RCR]

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About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...

  • Mark

    And, once again the average user, taxpayer, citizen will be paying the fees, which will be passed through by the carriers. You think Sprint, AT&T, Verizon are going to be pay the bill?

    Looks like I have at least 4 years of the government bleeding me dry.

  • Jim

    Agreed! They can add this fee on top of the one we already pay that was levied to pay for the Spanish American War!

  • Kirk

    Obama needs to go back to school. Raise taxes on big business and the end user has to pay for it. Econ 101 can teach this jackass plenty.

  • Mark2

    We have around 300 million mobile users in the US today. That’s about $16 per user.