Wireless companies are eager to get their hands on spectrum being cleared by television broadcasters. CTIA VP Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann said more than once during a hearing last week on future spectrum needs, the organization supports a smooth 39 month repacking process.
Wireless companies hope the process “is not delayed,” he said, noting that “your oversight of the 600 MHz transition” is key as “the U.S. wireless industry is poised to invest $275 billion over the next decade, add three million new jobs, and contribute half a trillion dollars to our economy.”
“Our members are keenly interested in ensuring timely access to this spectrum, which has the ability to better serve rural areas of the country,” Bergman testified. “We support a seamless repacking process for remaining broadcasters and are committed to working collaboratively to achieve the 39-month transition. Any delay would put at risk 5G development, rural buildout, and be inequitable to those companies investing nearly $20 billion in new spectrum.”
To the wireless industry, Bergmann said, the auction was a success, raising “$19.7 billion, making it the second largest FCC auction ever – by spectrum repurposed and by revenue.” He’s referring to the 2015 AWS-3 band auction which took in more than $40 billion in revenue to the U.S. Treasury and freed up 65 MHz of spectrum.
The recently-closed 600 MHz incentive auction will deliver 70 MHz of new mobile broadband spectrum, and an additional 14 MHz for unlicensed uses like WiFi and LTE-U/Licensed Assisted Access services. Today, 99.7 percent of Americans have access to 4G LTE service, and 95.9 percent can choose from three or more 4G LTE providers, according to CTIA. Cisco projects that mobile data traffic in the U.S. will grow by a factor of five from 2016 to 2021, or roughly 125 times mobile data levels in a decade’s time.
April 10, 2017
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