Licensed spectrum is worth $500 billion, according to CTIA
WASHINGTON – In a new report, the lobbying group Cellular Telephone Industries Association found that licensed broadband spectrum is a foundational asset that supports the multifaceted economic machinations.
Titled Mobile Broadband Spectrum a Vital Resource For the American Economy, the report found, “Licensed spectrum is a vital resource for the U.S. economy and consumers across the country. The development of the modern mobile wireless industry, from the widespread adoption of mobile devices to the continual evolution of wireless broadband networks transformed how America lives, plays and works. The licensed spectrum used by the wireless industry boosted our nation’s economy, created jobs and produced the world’s best telecom and technology sector.”
The study – conducted by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Brattle Group at the behest of CTIA, the wireless industry’s largest and most vocal trade association – brings into perspective how integrated the economy has become with wireless technology.
The report, which uses data from up to 2013, stipulates that for every person employed in the wireless industry, 6.5 other jobs are created across many other sectors such as technology, media and manufacturing.
The wireless industry employed 180,000 people directly in 2013 and was responsible for 1.3 million U.S. jobs overall, according to the report.
The report’s main focus is in the value and division of spectrum as a resource.
From the document:“Congress, has made an estimated 645.5 MHz of licensed spectrum available for the mobile wireless industry. After taking into account approximate differences in band values, we estimate that the economic value of the 645.5 MHz of licensed spectrum is almost $500 billion.”
The report said the spectrum is actually undervalued. “The value of licensed spectrum goes well beyond its economic or market value. As with most goods, wireless carrier customers usually value the service they buy more than they have to pay for it; even more so in a competitive industry like mobile wireless.
“For mobile wireless services, economists estimated that the total social benefits from licensed spectrum are at least 10 to 20 times the direct economic value of the spectrum. Therefore, thanks to the fiercely competitive nature of the wireless industry that enhances customer welfare, Americans save between $5 [trillion]-$10 trillion in income to invest or spend.”
