A shortage of wireless spectrum is a real and growing problem the industry faces. If the crisis is not averted, it has the very real potential to interfere with the way we use smartphones on wireless networks. If we don’t solve the problem, we may all pay the price with poor and slow service. Perhaps we are looking for a solution the wrong way.
There are a variety of solutions that could work. You can add your ideas to get the conversation going.
First, it’s important to put things in perspective. This is a new problem: We’ve only been wrestling with spectrum shortage for a few years. It all started with the success and growth of the Apple iPhone and Google Android-based phones like the Samsung Galaxy.
This problem is caused by rapid growth so it’s a good problem to have, but it is still a problem. Spectrum shortage is simple, but the solution is not. We are running out of spectrum, yet the demand keeps rising.
That means every carrier, to remain competitive, is increasingly trying to grab as much spectrum as it can to keep up with growing demand. At the same time, the limited availability of spectrum could threaten every carrier, large and small, in the wireless industry for years to come.
Wireless data spectrum shortage
Every time we use an app on our smartphone, we connect to the wireless data network via spectrum. Spectrum comprises the wireless channels we use to link our smartphone with the wireless data network. It’s the on ramp to the wireless Internet superhighway.
The problem is, while wireless spectrum is limited, our appetite for wireless connectivity through apps is huge and growing every day. Apps have grown from a few hundred just seven years ago to more than a million today, and that number keeps growing.
Another problem is there are numerous wireless competitors, large and small, all in need of more spectrum. And this need for more spectrum will continue to grow over time.
That’s the real industry dilemma we face. There are solutions, but nothing the industry has embraced as a whole to date.
Phil Falcone LightSquared solution shot down
You may recall Phil Falcone from a few years ago. Falcone saw this growing problem the wireless industry faced and came up with a solution. He acquired spectrum and started a company called LightSquared. Basically, his plan was to make this spectrum available to wireless carriers who need it for their customers and to continue their growth.
While it would not solve the entire problem, it was a step in the right direction. The problem was the spectrum LightSquared owned bled signal to nearby bands, interfering with the existing usage on those bands, which was a problem for another industry.
Bottom line, LightSquared failed. Not because there wasn’t a need, there is an enormous need. The problem was the spectrum bands they acquired interfered with other bands.
Maybe this plan would have worked if they had other spectrum bands. Unfortunately, LightSquared could not swap or acquire new spectrum, so it started down the long path of dissolving itself. Remember, spectrum is limited.
This is too bad because the spectrum shortage problem that existed a few years ago is still with us today and is getting worse.
Whether you agreed or disagreed with the plan, we should be thankful to Falcone for raising the flag and bringing attention to this area. This LightSquared story did elevate the growing problem every wireless user and carrier faces today. It helped put the problem on the front page so we are all aware of the need for a solution.
T-Mobile US trying to corner spectrum market
John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile US, is taking center stage in trying to change the focus of this growing industrywide crisis. The reason is because T-Mobile US needs more spectrum. The company got a late start and it needs more as its highway gets clogged with users.
Access to more spectrum is what every network, large and small, needs. T-Mobile US needing more spectrum may be one reason it may want to merge with Dish Network – Dish needs a wireless arm and T-Mobile US needs spectrum, so they can help each other.
Legere is trying to make the case that smaller players like T-Mobile US need spectrum more than larger players. T-Mobile US said the limited spectrum still available should go to smaller carriers like Sprint, T-Mobile US, US Cellular, C Spire and others.
While you have to hand it to Legere, his bold attempt to corner the spectrum market for smaller players ignores the same needs for larger players. While smaller players need access to spectrum, so do larger carriers.
Today, AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless have the most customers in the United States. Between the two of them, they have more than 70% market share. If they don’t get more spectrum, both the carrier and its customers will suffer. That can’t be allowed to happen.
What is needed is a solution that benefits all competitors, not just one side or one company.
Spectrum solutions
So thank you to Falcone and Legere for putting this important issue on the front burner.
However, we still need a real, industrywide solution for all players to get their hands on more capacity to properly take care of customers going forward; a solution that helps all players, not just some of them.
Every player needs the same thing … more spectrum to meet its growing needs. We must keep the process fair and make sure that all companies have what they need to continue to grow.
One solution may be letting companies merge. This would pool spectrum into fewer and larger companies and increase the ability for each to service their customers.
Another solution may be shared spectrum. Carriers would rather use their own spectrum bands, I understand that. But what if we run out of spectrum to handle the growing load? We need to do something bold before it’s too late.
Companies could still own the spectrum they currently have. However, all spectrum could be pooled together and leased or rented to any carrier, large or small.
Companies could earn income from the leasing of their spectrum, plus every carrier would have equal access. That means no carrier would have an advantage or disadvantage – they could all compete on value, customer care and quality.
Your ideas to solve spectrum shortage
I am sure you have a few ideas of your own. Why don’t we start a discussion with ideas and solutions to the growing wireless spectrum problem? Ideas that are fair to all players.
Let’s pull the camera back and have a big-picture discussion about the possibilities to solve this growing spectrum shortage crisis.
Let’s hear your ideas!
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