Spectrum and Wireless

The expansion of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of liberally licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion. The freeing up of spectrum from other uses would allow greater expansion of wireless broadband and would bring substantial gains – likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars – for U.S. consumers, businesses, and the federal treasury. Developing a plan to increase the amount of spectrum for wireless broadband is a high priority of the FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative, which is developing a national broadband plan. Failure to allocate sufficient spectrum will slow the rollout of broadband services, increase their prices, and cost consumers and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. TPI has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the options.

The growth of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of flexibly licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion, according to a new study released by the Technology Policy Institute. The study was coauthored by Thomas Lenard, president and senior fellow at TPI; Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at the NYU Stern School of Business; and James Riso, a research associate at TPI.