Wireless

Joe Kane joins a panel speaking on what is being done to ensure spectrum is put to its best and highest use, and if there is enough spectrum to keep pace with demand and innovation.

Even as greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing, solutions are emerging—some of the most promising of which stem from technological innovations, including burgeoning 5G.

Many attempts to increase the flexibility of wireless spectrum rights meet objections that the method of reallocation will result in a windfall for corporate license holders. Far from being objectionable, however, allowing windfalls in spectrum reallocation creates virtuous incentives.

The Commission should incentivize voluntary, industry-led standards and take a forward-looking approach to the future interference environment by establishing a clear framework for adjudicating interference claims in the face of differential receiver quality.

To some, spectrum sharing is an innovative necessity. To others, it is a recipe for wasting valuable bandwidth. The truth is more nuanced. The spectrum-sharing landscape is marked with promising ideas and technologies that require further investment to be generalizable solutions.

The recent interagency spat between the FAA and FCC over the rollout of 5G services in the C band was a case study in more than just bureaucratic turf wars. It shows how failure to invest in technological upgrades can leave some players looking silly while they struggle to adjust to changing times.

The Commission should commit to the productivity-enhancing nature of dynamic spectrum markets by declining to adopt proposals that would reduce the number of beneficial transactions that the enhanced competition incentive program (ECIP) could otherwise deliver.

It would be ironic and regrettable if, just as Congress passed a $1.2 billion infrastructure package, the Biden administration slows down the deployment of the wireless technology that represents the most important infrastructure for the country’s near-term future.

Standards-setting bodies for 5G technology appear to be working well, but U.S. policymakers are justifiably wary of China’s ambitions to manipulate the system. They should stay on guard and provide financial support for U.S. companies to participate.