Carriers Petition Obama To Clear Sub-3-GHz Government Bands

TO MEET CURRENT and projected demands for wireless technology, US carriers have repeatedly pointed out that they need more frequency spectrum. To strengthen their cause, they are even willing to band together. At the end of July, for instance, CTIA-The Wireless Association (www.ctia.org) and carrier members sent a letter to President Obama. The letter requested that he direct the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to clear unused and underutilized government spectrum bands below 3 GHz.

The NTIA is responsible for managing the government's spectrum holdings. In the letter, the signatories ask Obama to direct NTIA to free cleared, paired, and internationally harmonized bands below 3 GHz. It underscores the fact that access to the spectrum in these bands is critical to meeting the important goals outlined both in the President's Wireless Initiative and the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) National Broadband Plan.

The letter was signed by some of CTIA's carrier members, who represent more than 92% of US wireless customers. They include AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets President and CEO Ralph de la Vega, Cellcom President and CEO Patrick Riordan, and Sprint President and CEO Dan Hesse, among others. To read a copy of the letter, please visit: http://files.ctia.org/pdf/CTIA_Letter_28July2011.pdf.