CES: Genachowski: More TV Spectrum Could Be Reclaimed Within Two Years
FCC Chairman Reiterates Warning About 'Spectrum Crunch'
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 1/7/2011 6:03:21 PM
Las Vegas — Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski reiterated his position that the U.S. faces a "spectrum crunch" and said that if the agency gets the Congressional go-ahead it could reclaim wireless spectrum from TV broadcasters and auction it within two years.
Genachowski, in a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show here Friday, said mobile broadband was critical to fueling the country's economic growth and keeping it globally competitive.
"The consumer electronics industry is going wireless... We need to free up more spectrum," Genachowski said. "Unleashing mobile spectrum is at the top of the FCC's 2011 agenda."
He added, "We could be in a position, if Congress acts, to auction this spectrum in the next year or two and get that on the market... Every day we have a delay we'll have a cost to the U.S. in terms of our global competitiveness."
He called wireless spectrum "the oxygen that sustains our mobile devices," adding, "This invisible infrastructure is the backbone of a growing percentage of our economy and our lives."
In a response to Genachowski's prepared remarks, the National Association of Broadcasters noted that TV broadcasters just returned 108 MHz of spectrum -- nearly one-third of the industry's allocated resources -- to the federal government through the transition to digital TV.
"Broadcasters have no quarrel with an incentive auction that is truly voluntary," NAB executive vice president of communications Dennis Wharton said. "Simply put, broadcast television is far and away the most efficient user of spectrum because of a 'one-to-many' transmission system that is remarkably reliable in a communications era best known for inconsistent 'one-to-one' cellphone connections."
Genachowski did acknowledge that the 700-MHz band spectrum reclaimed with the digital TV transition in 2009 would help but that it wasn't going to be enough to meet demand.
About 300 MHz of spectrum is set aside for TV broadcasters in the U.S. However, Genachowski said, the percentage of viewers who rely on over-the-air television -- rather than receiving their TV from cable and satellite services -- has declined to less than 10%.
The FCC chairman cited studies forecasting a 35-fold increase in mobile broadband usage over the next five years, and he said he felt that was probably conservative. "It's a huge gap and it's one we have to close," he said.
Voluntary incentive spectrum auctions are an essential tool for enabling mobile innovation, Genachowski said, pointing out that such auctions could generate billions of dollars for the U.S. government.
"How can we justify shielding broadcast spectrum from market forces?" he asked rhetorically. "It's time to take the necessary steps to ensure that spectrum will be the great enabler of mobile innovation in the 21st century, not a chokepoint."
After his prepared remarks, Genachowski was interviewed by Consumer Electronics Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro -- who is clearly aligned with the FCC on the need for spectrum reclamation. Shapiro, in his keynote Thursday kicking off CES, accused broadcasters of "squatting on our broadband future" by not relinquishing spectrum.
Last month, the FCC in a 3-2 vote approved network-neutrality rules, which forbid broadband providers from blocking or degrading access to websites or applications -- with provisions for reasonable network management -- and mandates that operators disclose their network management practices.
Shapiro questioned whether network neutrality rules would be necessary if there were a more competitive wireless broadband market. Genachowski responded, "Driving competition in the United States is incredibly important. Where there's insufficient competition we need to act."
In a meeting with reporters afterward, when asked what the FCC would do if broadcasters did not voluntarily give back the spectrum, Genachowski said, "I think it will work... We've put together a proposal that I think will be appealing to the market."
Genachowski declined to comment about the FCC's review of the Comcast deal for NBC Universal. "It's moving forward in the review process," he said.
The FCC is due to vote on whether to approve Comcast's deal for NBC Universal. The commission is expected approve the transaction, but possibly with dissents on individual conditions, Multichannel News reported.
At the outset of his speech, Genachowski ribbed Shapiro for promoting his new book, The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream, with posters plastered all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He quipped that the CEA chief had made CES "the most elaborate book-launch party in history."
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