Tomorrow, NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on the critical role of public spectrum management in meeting our nation’s security needs, unlocking the next generation of connectivity, and maintaining American leadership in the global digital economy.
Powell will highlight the high stakes of spectrum policy, warning that current “zero-sum” conflicts could have serious consequences and encouraging policymakers to embrace Wi-Fi and share solutions that will expand the utility of spectrum in a timely manner.
Wi-Fi: the American wireless MVP
Wi-Fi is the unsung hero of connectivity and how most people use the Internet. It’s an essential part of daily life, present in countless devices, supporting everything from entertainment and remote working to telehealth and education. And it carries the vast majority of all Internet traffic.
- Wi-Fi processes ten times more data than all other wireless networks combined, and its value to the U.S. economy is expected to increase further. $2.4 trillion per year by 2027.
- Between 82% and 89% of all data consumed on mobile devices in the United States travels over Wi-Fi.
But keeping Wi-Fi fast, reliable, and ready to meet the demands of next-generation applications will require finding more spectrum available for unlicensed use. The 7 GHz band is uniquely suited to support the continued growth of Wi-Fi, making new spectrum available for commercial use while coexisting with the operations and needs of government incumbents.
Why Shared Spectrum Matters
With no new specter of “green fields” to turn to, we need to be smarter about managing this critical resource and use technology to meet business and government needs more effectively. The old “clear and auction” spectrum allocation model, in which incumbents are forcibly displaced and spectrum is reserved for a single commercial entity, is increasingly less feasible, having a negative impact on U.S. security interests and needlessly delays spectrum availability through shared licensing models that advance U.S. leadership in job creation, competition, and innovation.
Take, for example, success of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) model, in which users such as businesses, schools, and airports share spectrum with government users for a wide variety of services. CBRS is currently deployed for:
- Expand connectivity in rural America and underserved communities.
- Driving the development of precision agriculture.
- Empower businesses and factories to create private networks that meet their specific needs.
- Reduce the cost of mobile phone service through innovation and new competitive offers.
The big takeaway
To meet the future needs of America’s consumers and avoid endless cycles of conflict between government and commercial users, we must seize the opportunities offered by technology to chart a path forward.
This is exactly what spectrum sharing leveraging coexistence technologies does: it is revolutionary, sustainable, and the best path forward to meeting our security needs while maintaining America’s position as a leader in spectrum innovation.
Stay tuned for updates from Michael Powell’s January 23, 2025 testimony and learn more about NCTA’s advocacy for innovative spectrum policies.