Broadband
High-speed data connections, or broadband, are critical to the economy. Our work on broadband covers a wide range of topics, including the digital divide, wireline and wireless provision, spectrum, net neutrality, competition, and more.
Lightsquared, LTE-U and the Revenge of the ‘Anti-Commons’
Many have feared that unlicensed spectrum would suffer from a “tragedy of the commons,” in which the spectrum becomes congested as more users dive in without regard to their effects on other users. Engineers and others have worked hard to prevent that outcome.
LightSquared is no Solyndra
The continued growth of wireless broadband depends in large part on the availability of spectrum. A recent study estimates that by 2019 the U.S. will need more than 350 additional megahertz of licensed spectrum to support projected commercial mobile wireless demand – 50% more than is currently available.
Government-Held Spectrum Necessary for Wireless Broadband Growth
Freeing up more federal government spectrum – potentially the largest source of additional spectrum for wireless broadband – requires a combination of administrative/budgetary and market mechanisms, stated Thomas Lenard in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for the hearing, “Wireless Broadband and the Future of Spectrum Policy.” In addition, he noted, spectrum licensed for mobile satellite services (MMS) is the largest block of available spectrum in the short run.