Disqus
The United States Justice Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are asking the Federal Communications Commission to free up more wireless spectrum to connect more Americans to broadband. The NTIA is asking for an additional 800 MHz of spectrum to be released, which is huge when you consider that today the U.S. only has 500 MHz of spectrum allocated today. The U.S. Justice Department is also asking for more spectrum; they didn’t give any numbers as to how much, but they did emphasize that they would like to make it more difficult for current wireless providers to purchase the new spectrum. Both government departments simply want to encourage competition. Most U.S. broadband customers are limited to the duopoly that services their area. The additional spectrum would create a competitive third option.
“The scarcity of spectrum is a fundamental obstacle that the commission should address,” the Justice Department said. “Reallocating spectrum that is being underutilized would encourage the deployment of wireless services and could help to make such services more competitive with wireline offerings.”
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
