NTIA aims to free up 115 MHz of spectrum in next five years

The Commerce Department has identified 115 megahertz of spectrum that could be freed up within the next five years for mobile and fixed wireless broadband services. The government also released a timetable to free more spectrum as part of President Obama’s initiative to find 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next 10 years for mobile and fixed broadband services.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which advises the administration on spectrum policy, identified frequency bands at 1675-1710 MHz; 1755-1780 MHz; 3500-3650 MHz; and 4200-4220 MHz and 4380-4400 MHz. The report recommends that some portions of these bands totaling 115 megahertz be made available for wireless broadband use within five years, contingent upon the allocation of resources for necessary reallocation activities. Fifteen megahertz of spectrum, from 1695-1710 MHz, can be reallocated quickly, NTIA said. The government also recommended freeing 10 megahertz from 3550-3650 MHz.
“The 15 megahertz of spectrum that NTIA has identified below 3 GHz is just a start,” said CTIA President Steve Largent in a prepared statement. “We will continue to work to ensure that federal policymakers understand, and focus on, the importance of certain bands of spectrum, such as the 1755-1780 band, for delivering on the promise of robust mobile broadband. A thorough analysis of government spectrum use is key to ensuring that we succeed with the president’s and the FCC’s goal of bringing 500 MHz of spectrum, sufficient for mobile broadband, to market.
“We believe that NTIA’s efforts to free government spectrum for licensed commercial use are essential to helping the U.S. wireless industry maintain our world leadership in mobile innovation, and we will carefully review NTIA’s report. By making spectrum available for auction, the federal government will enable the wireless industry to continue to invest billions of dollars to purchase the licensed spectrum, and billions more to build and upgrade the networks that fuel our ‘virtuous cycle’ of innovation. We look forward to continuing to work with NTIA, the Administration, FCC, Congress and other interested parties to bring this spectrum to market and to continue to assist our nation in its economic recovery.”