The FCC is investigating spectrum needed for wireless broadband as it readies its broadband plans.
The FCC posted a notice seeking comments. It notes that entities "raised the issue that the United States will not have sufficient spectrum available to meet demands for wireless broadband in the near future."
The FCC request seeks to find out if there is enough support for the
present and future demands of wireless broadband.
At broadband policy workshop in August carriers and backhaul providers expressed the the need for more spectrum and more efficient use of it.
T-Mobile and Motorola
told the FCC of the increase mobile data traffic, and the need for more
spectrum.
Here are the major questions from the notice:
- What is the ability of current spectrum allocations to support next-generation buildouts and the anticipated surge in demand and throughput requirements?
- What spectrum bands are best positioned to support mobile or fixed wireless broadband?
- What are the key issues in moving spectrum allocations toward their highest and best use in the public interest?
- What is the ability of current spectrum allocations to support both the fixed and mobile wireless backhaul market?
The Comment Date is October 23, 2009 and the Reply Comment Date isNovember 13, 2009
There are some interesting facts in the request:
- According to Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI), a traditional handheld device,with average customer usage patterns, will consume about 30 megabytes of data in a month, a single smartphone consumes 30 times that amount, and a single connected notebook or laptop computer is consuming 450 times that amount.
- Motorola notes that more than 78 percent of U.S. wireless consumers have a wireless device that is capable of accessing the Internet, and approximately 40million American consumers are active users of mobile Internet services--a 75 percent increase from two years ago.
- Customers of T-Mobile's G1 smartphone use 50 times the data of an average T-Mobile customer.
- WCAI notes that mobile data applications require bandwidth between 1 and 5 Mbps, compared to 6 to 12 kbps for a mobile voice call..
- The ability of AT&T to handle the 5,000% growth in data usage over the past three years relies upon broad contiguous bands of spectrum.
- Clearwire's representative added that it is critical that in the near future, when individuals will be using applications that require access to and transfer of 10 GB, 15 GB, or even 20 GB of data, download speeds are not diminished to dial-up equivalencies.