A draft of the “Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015″ is currently circulating the House Communications Subcommittee in hopes of creating a framework for the Federal Communications Commission’s reclaimed wireless broadband spectrum auction.
The proposed bill would ask the FCC to work with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration on a framework outlining rules and procedures for relocating federal spectrum for users, as well as band sharing for non-federal users. It would also ask the agencies to develop a timeline for bidding, but does not identify specific spectrum.
The bill also aims to address the issues surrounding the reservation of unlicensed spectrum, which reduces government profits, but helps fuel wireless access through Wi-Fi hot spots. The draft aims to strike a balance between licensed and unlicensed spectrum use.
In addition to the spectrum pipeline bill, another bill is making its rounds designed to provide incentives for government spectrum users to auction their spectrum. The ‘‘Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015’’ would allow government agencies to share in spectrum profits. Currently, federal agencies can only make money off of relocation and sharing costs.
The two bills are designed to create a “steady supply of commercially usable spectrum” to handle data demands from the increasing number of wireless devices.
“Though there has been progress made in achieving the goals set forth by the National Broadband Plan, additional spectrum is still needed to satisfy the spectrum clearing targets,” the majority staff memo for the hearing said. “Federally held spectrum has been considered as an opportunity for consolidating systems and repurposing cleared bands for commercial use as the Federal government is the largest single user of spectrum.”
The Senate will also hold a hearing soon titled “Removing Barriers to Wireless Broadband Deployment,” which is aimed at creating an inventory of government spectrum. Other topics could include where poles, conduits and rights of way exist for network deployments and “dig once” initiatives for deploying fiber along highways, according to Broadcasting & Cable.
