Policymakers have long said they were doing what they could to ease the pocketbook pain of average Americans. Now, a new administration has the chance to take real action that will help prevent higher cell phone bills while also connecting more Americans and keeping our communications infrastructure competitive with China.
The good news? Policymakers and the broadband industry have shared objectives: more people connected to sturdy wired and wireless infrastructure that will serve as the backbone of how we work, learn, play, and connect for years to come.
But Washington must recognize that we’re facing a simple supply and demand mismatch. Demand for mobile connectivity is skyrocketing: Over the last three years, traffic on AT&T’s wireless network has grown by 20% annually, and it’s projected to double by 2028. Robust wireless service will power everything from self-driving cars to the connected home.
To do so, wireless networks need electromagnetic spectrum—and a lot of it—to send data. In the U.S., the federal government controls access to this crucial and finite resource, and policymakers have been slower than other nations around the globe to make more of it available.
Problematically, policymakers have been withholding the most valuable type of spectrum for today’s technology, known as mid-band spectrum, which provides the optimal mix of coverage and speed. And when it has been made available, the Federal Communications Commission has too often given it away for free to be underutilized and under-invested in unlicensed or experimental technologies, instead of allocating it for licensed uses that have spurred record investment. China, by contrast, has made more calculated use of this scarce resource and made available more than twice the licensed mid-band spectrum as the U.S.
Decades ago, before we all carried cell phones everywhere, the Defense Department was given control of large swaths of spectrum. But as demand for spectrum has increased, the Pentagon and its allies in Congress have been loath to share this valuable public resource. Obviously, ensuring our military has the wireless tools they need is critically important, which is why AT&T and the wireless industry have worked in good faith to develop a spectrum policy solution that works for all stakeholders.
National defense entails more than radar and weapons systems. True national security requires the soft power that comes with a vibrant, competitive economy that makes America the world’s best place to develop cutting-edge technology and enables robust networks that can carry the essential load during unplanned events like hurricanes, wildfires, or an unthinkable cyber event. With this understanding, it is in the Pentagon’s interest to make an earnest effort to balance the legitimate needs of the military with those of American consumers and businesses to have access to world-class mobile infrastructure.
Fortunately, some in Congress have been working to boost the spectrum supply. Both the House and Senate had bills this Congress that would free up this crucial resource, including the Spectrum Pipeline Act (which has the industry’s support) from Sen. Ted Cruz, the likely incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Importantly, this legislation reauthorizes the FCC’s auction authority and directs the agency to license mid-band airwaves for full-power mobile broadband services. And because auctions, spectrum clearing, and development of sharing mechanisms can take years, it’s important that Congress act expeditiously next year to make it law. This proposal is a smart spectrum policy that will stimulate investment, and deliver better mobile coverage and capacity, including in underserved areas. It’ll also mean more competition in home broadband by facilitating fixed wireless services in geographically remote places that have been historically harder to reach with wired connections.
To get there, we need two things: The first is a private sector willing to invest billions in physical infrastructure and spectrum licenses. The second is smart, rational public policy that incentivizes that investment.
I can tell you we have the former. To ensure the latter, I urge Congress and the new Trump Administration to act in favor of broader coverage and lower prices by moving past studies to release critically needed spectrum for the American consumers, businesses, and first responders who rely on the wireless industry.
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