More Spectrum, Please
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 
In an Ex Parte Submission yesterday, the Justice Department is asking the FCC to allocate more spectrum for wireless broadband:
Reallocating spectrum that is being underutilized would encourage the deployment of wireless services and could help to make such services more competitive with wireline offerings. First, an increase in the amount of spectrum that firms could devote to broadband would lower the cost of providing wireless broadband services and encourage entry. Second, more spectrum would allow providers to increase the capacity and reliability of their offerings, thereby bringing them closer to cable modem and fiber-based broadband. Third, the increased capacity in the systems would help support new applications. We urge the Commission to give priority to making more spectrum available to wireless broadband providers so as to maximize their potential to compete against the established wireline ones. According to the FCC Broadband Status Report, there is no time to spare, given the exploding demand for broadband mobile use, the long lags historically experienced in allocating spectrum to new uses, and the danger that "the spectrum pipeline is drying up."
We’re all for it here. Good luck in getting the DoD to surrender some of its spectrum. We have a better chance is getting of that "white space" made available by the digital transition by broadcasters.
The DoJ is correct in citing direct-broadcast satellite’s introduction as bringing true competition to the video marketplace, and making more spectrum available to wireless broadband services will likely have the same effect.
