In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for an expansion of high-speed wireless services to meet the needs of US consumers and businesses.
“Within the next five years, we will make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans,” said President Obama. “This isn’t just about a faster Internet and fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age.”
Obama only gave a slight nod toward how difficult universal connectivity may become since the potential for demand is limitless while spectrum available for these services is quite limited.
The Obama administration has previously endorsed making 500 MHz of wireless spectrum available over the next decade to meet the growing demand for broadband services for both mobile devices and homes.
The Federal Communications Commission hopes to repurpose 120 MHz of spectrum through incentive auctions where TV broadcasters voluntarily give up spectrum in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.
The broadcast TV industry has raised some concerns over these sales, the most recent of which is that the spectrum the industry gave up nearly two years ago has yet to be fully utilized. Its inclusion in the speech, however, may mean the industry’s concerns will play second fiddle.
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