Government to find airwaves for wireless
By Reuters
October 5, 2001, 4:15 p.m. PT
WASHINGTON--The Bush administration on Friday unveiled a new plan to find more airwaves to sell to wireless companies hungry for more so they can launch a new generation of advanced mobile services.
Several government agencies plan to assess the usefulness of two bands of spectrum for commercial services and possible timelines in which the bands could be made available, according to a statement by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The assessment will not include a band that is largely used by the Defense Department for a variety of military operations, the agency said. Analysts have said that band, 1755-1850 megahertz (Mhz), is likely off the table because the military is ratcheting up operations for a possible war.
"The assessment will address possible sharing between incumbents and new 3G users," NTIA said. "The assessment will also attempt to identify alternate, replacement spectrum bands for displaced federal and private sector systems."
The new bands under consideration include 1710-1770 Mhz and 2110-2170 Mhz. The agencies involved in the study, NTIA, the Federal Communications Commission, the Defense Department and other executive branch offices, plan to complete the study in late spring 2002.
Wireless companies like Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, want more spectrum to launch so-called third-generation (3G) mobile services such as high-speed Internet service.
"We think it's a positive development," said Steve Berry, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. "It doesn't take any spectrum off the table."
The Clinton administration had laid out a timetable for identifying spectrum for 3G by July 2001 and current law requires the sale of some of the airwaves under consideration by Sept. 30, 2002, though Congress could extend that deadline.
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