Policies promoting wireless broadband are policies, rules, and regulations supporting the "National Wireless Initiative", a plan to bring wireless broadband Internet access to 98% of Americans.
Spectrum is limited and much of it already in use. This raises the issue of space and strength of supporting the network. The infrastructure has to reach across the entire United States in areas that normally do not have Internet access. The main concept is to bring wireless service to residents in areas that may otherwise not have access to it.Commends Obama Wireless Proposals . Public Knowledge (2011-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-05-01. The public's interest in this plan is important as the people are the ones who will utilize this service. Network neutrality raises issues on freedom of information and who will have control over how the information is released, or even lack of control.
The Memorandum on Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution claimed that wireless Internet access had the potential to enhance economic competition and improve the quality of life.Code of Federal Regulations on FDSys U.S. Government Printing Office Memorandum on Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution The Internet is considered an important part of the economy and advanced business opportunities as it is a vital infrastructure. The Code of Federal Regulations says that this is the beginning of the next transformation in information technology, as we encounter the wireless broadband revolution.
Strategy The initial plan by President George W. Bush was to have broadband availability for all Americans by 2007.Federal Communications Commission FCC Task Force Recommends Actions to Speed the Rollout of Wireless Broadband Services In February, 2011, President Obama announced details of the "National Wireless Initiative" or "Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative".
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairperson Michael K. Powell created the Wireless Broadband Access Task Force to help bring the plan together. The members study existing wireless broadband policies, making recommendations in the FCC's policies for acceleration in the deployment of the wireless technologies and services. This is completed by seeking out the expertise, experience, and advice of consumers, state and local governments, the industry, and other stakeholders. These recommendations are intended to assist with how to make policies and further progress the process for the national wireless plan. They are based on the inquiry of the state of wireless broadband as well as the FCC's policies that impact these services.
Powell commented in a statement that this broadband plan is a catalyst for positive change, bringing resources and jobs to communities across the country.Federal Communications Commission Separate Statement of Chairman Michael K. Powell The CTIA The Wireless Association encouraged legislative action that recognizes the unique and invaluable role of Wireless in providing Americans Internet access.Broadband Overview. Ctia.org. Retrieved on 2011-05-01.
This plan included issues such as: Radio spectrum How the radio spectrum will support national wireless broadband Cost of creating the wireless network Maintaining the network Who will create the network and infrastructure Who will support the network and infrastructure Consideration of what the public interest is in this plan, The wireless plan's policies, What the current President of the United States plans to do How the previous President George W. Bush promoted this plan.
Spectrum Freeing space The plan is to free up enough of the radio spectrum from licensed and unlicensed space. To free up space, the FCC intends to hold incentive auctions, spurring innovation, by current licensees voluntarily giving up their spectrum space.President Obama Details Plan to Win the Future through Expanded Wireless Access | The White House. Whitehouse.gov (2011-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-05-01. The CTIA has requested the FCC to obtain more capacity on the spectrum by placing priority on additional spectrum through the national wireless plan. This hopes to ensure space on the spectrum for the wireless broadband to work. The auction would also require legislation to conduct for the spectrum to be reassigned and reallocated. In this plan, legislation is needed for the FCC to hold these auctions to enable the current spectrum holders to realize a portion of the revenues if they participate. These voluntary incentive auctions for licensees are a critical part of freeing the spectrum, as well as encouraging the government to more efficiently use the spectrum. The auction is intended to bring profit back to the United States and new licensees. However, it was brought up in February 2011 that it is not clear on whether these incentive auctions will take place. One goal of the plan is to reduce the national deficit by approximately $10 billion through these license auctions and other business opportunities. The auctions and increased spectrum efficiency from the government would raise $27.8 billion over the next ten years. The government will be expected to use the spectrum more efficiently using new financial-compensation tools with commitments to using advanced technologies. There is also the idea to spur innovation by using $3 billion of the spectrum proceeds for research and development of newer wireless technologies and applications.
Spectrum sections to use Wireless requires bandwidth, and because of this, there would need to be enough of the spectrum obtained to sustain the bandwidth of the network. It also needs to be considered that upload links and downstream communication can require a difference amount of space. In the FCC News in 2005, it is mentioned that there needs to be enough spectrum to account for the unbalancing of broadband services. The service typically needs a larger amount of bandwidth for downstream than for upload links. Wireless will only work with adequate spectrum to support the initiative and the many devices, networks, and applications that it will run. President Obama has set a goal of freeing 500 MHz of the spectrum for any wireless device within a decade. The CTIA also supports this within the next ten years. The space would also need to be within the stronger part of the spectrum. According to the 112th United States Congress, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act calls for this to be within the 700 MHz D block spectrum for rural and urban areas and was originally requested to be done before the Digital TV transition. The 700 MHz D block refers to the portion of the spectrum between the following frequencies
758 MHz to 763 MHz 788 MHz to 793 MHz.H.R.607: Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 – U.S. Congress . OpenCongress (2011-04-26). Retrieved on 2011-05-01.
In its pursuit to support the FCC, the CTIA also recommended the spectrum in the following ranges
1.7 GHz 2.1 GHz bands.
With 4G deployment rising, it is critical to have the airwave space to support future innovation and to avoid the spectrum crunch. This provides clearance in the spectrum that is already allocated to wireless carriers. The CTIA also have requested access to existing utility poles where new construction is not possible. Although the spectrum is wide, the science and physics of the spectrum still create limited amounts of space.Net Neutrality Overview. Ctia.org. Retrieved on 2011-05-01.
Reserved spectrum President Obama also plans to increase public safety by reallocating the D block of the spectrum and $500 million within the Wireless Innovation (WIN) Fund. The 700 MHz D block spectrum would be reallocated and integrated for public safety entities. The Communications Act of 1934 would be amended to increase the electromagnetic spectrum by 10 MHz for public safety.S.28: Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act – U.S. Congress. OpenCongress. Retrieved on 2011-05-01. An important part of this spectrum plan is that there is already space for public safety. One piece that needs to be determined is how to integrate the 700 MHz D block that will be reallocated with the existing public safety spectrum. The current 20 MHz of public safety spectrum needs to be determined how to be licensed as well. The considerations are nationwide, regional, statewide or some combination in accordance with the public interest.
Review of the spectrum use In Section 205 of the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of the 112th United States Congress, it is required to have a review of the use of the spectrum after a certain period of time of the deployment. After no more than 5 years of the implementation of the wireless network plan, the Commission must conduct a survey and submit a report regarding the public safety spectrum. This includes how the spectrum is being used, recommendations on whether more spectrum is needed and determine if there is opportunity for some of the spectrum to be returned for other commercial purposes. The report intends to make sure that there is the right amount of spectrum and ensure it is being used for the correct purposes, as there is only a limited amount of spectrum overall. From the Administration of Barack Obama, they also would like to test the value of underutilized spectrum to be able to open new avenues of use. Since spectrum space is limited, looking at other spectrum could allow other licensees to move elsewhere, perhaps freeing up more for wireless. Utilizing other spectrum would allow development of advanced technologies. The Secretary of Commerce, National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense, Department of Justice, NASA and other organizations have been designated to create a plan to explore these innovative spectrum-sharing technologies.
Technology and infrastructure In the 1950s, the town of Ten Sleep, Wyoming, had just set up their phone service using federal subsidies and stringing copper wire to every home.Greeley, Brendan. (2011-02-17) The Flaw in Obama's Wireless Plan. BusinessWeek. Retrieved on 2011-05-01. In 2005, they upgraded to fiber optic cable, giving the residents high-speed Internet access. This scenario caught President Obama's eye in terms of success, which he hopes to duplicate with the national wireless broadband. On February 10, 2011, he pointed to this example of what he wants to replicate and hopes it will help progress more economic development by providing Internet to almost all Americans. Brendan Greenley from Business Week magazine does not believe Obama's plan will create another success story. While examples are helpful to reference when creating a plan, not all plans react the same way. There are many different factors involved, such as geography and the type of users involved.