The nation’s top tech execs are urging the Bush administration to bring the
country’s spectrum public policy into the 21st century.
According to a new report by the Technology CEO Council, a public policy
advocacy group of IT executives, current public policy is creating an
artificial spectrum scarcity that needs to be addressed to accommodate
emerging wireless technologies.
“Our nation’s wireless needs are too often governed by outdated regulations
that hinder economic progress and innovation,” Edward Zander, chairman
and CEO of Motorola and chairman of the Technology CEO Council, said in a
statement.
“We need to re-think our approach to radio spectrum to bring
our national policy into the wireless era and ensure that spectrum is
available for entrepreneurs, innovators and first responders,” he added.
According to the report, more than 200 million Americans use spectrum daily
to conduct business or stay in touch. It supports more than 3.6 million
jobs.
The tech executives want Congress to direct the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), which manages public spectrum, and the National
Telecommunications Administration (NTIA), which handles government uses, to
analyze what spectrum bands are not being put to highest and best use.
For government bands not being used efficiently, the Technology CEO Council
recommends reallocating the spectrum for other uses, including commercial
use.
In addition, the council contends, the FCC should reduce service and
technological restrictions on wireless licenses to promote the most flexible
and robust uses of such licenses.
“We have the technology and techniques to significantly expand the use and
usability of spectrum. What is needed is permission,” the report states.
“A
more enlightened and progressive policy approach can dramatically expand
America’s (and the world’s) supply of precious radio spectrum — despite the
fact that it is, like any other natural resource, finite.”
Both Congress and the Bush administration are working on the permission
sought by the executives.
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