In response to spectrum activities by the FCC and NTIA, CTIA-The Wireless Association's President and CEO, Steve Largent, issued the following statement:
We appreciate the efforts of Chairman Genachowski and the FCC Commissioners to focus attention on the growth of mobile broadband services and the critical need for spectrum.
The era of mobile broadband services offers tremendous opportunities for U.S. consumers and businesses. At the same time, it presents an important challenge for policymakers, who must ensure that there is sufficient spectrum to meet the rapidly growing demand and maintain our global leadership.
Today's OBI working paper confirms what CTIA, analysts, wireless providers and the National Broadband Plan have said all along - that the increasing adoption of smartphones, combined with American consumers' demand for mobile broadband service, will require additional spectrum to meet these needs. The summit has furthered the discussion regarding when and how we will bring additional spectrum to market to support the incredible spike in demand.
The NPRM that was announced by the chairman will help to develop the framework for recovering what we hope will be a significant amount of that spectrum.
We also thank Secretary Strickling and NTIA for their efforts to date. A careful analysis of government spectrum use is key to ensuring the President's and the FCC's goal of bringing 500 MHz of spectrum, which is sufficient for mobile broadband to market.
We will continue to work to ensure that federal policymakers understand--and focus on--the importance of certain bands of spectrum, such as the 1755-1780 band, for delivering on the promise of robust mobile broadband.
We look forward to working with the NTIA, the FCC and the broadcasters throughout this process.