It may soon become very difficult to use our cell phones any more. According to The Federal Commission, there is a “looming spectrum crunch”, the result of the rapid increase in mobile data and the fear of being unable to keep up. According to CNN’s Amy Gahran, “users [will] end up waiting and waiting for Web pages, maps, apps, and more to update”, which some are feeling already. Gahran is someone who feels effected and admitted that she “switched from an iPhone to a Droid Incredible, which offers much snappier performance, largely due to relatively low congestion on Verizon’s network”. In her article, “FCC warns of looming mobile spectrum crunch”, she refers to the Federal Communication Commission as her lead source. As this crunch draws upon us, will we be able to bear it or will it overload the spectrum. The FCC claims that in the last six months, “subscriptions to data services [have] increased by 40 percent” and between the first quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010, data used by wireless consumers have grown “by more than 450 percent”. This rapid growth is currently affecting the speed of some company’s phones such as AT&T, which is the major contributor to recent data expansion. With recent developments in the technology world, such as the iPad and smart phones, the data world needs to expand. ABC News’ Ann Compton, Yunji de Nies, and Sunlen Miller, published on June 28, 2010 that “President Obama today signed a presidential memorandum approving a new effort to sell off government-owned and commercial spectrum to be used to upgrade communications nationwide”. This reveals the government’s ability and desire to capitalize on this growing issue.
In order to fix the crunch carriers need to update their networks as well as operate on more frequencies. The memorandum signed by Obama calls for making 500 MHz of spectrum available over the next 10 years. White House officials believe that the memorandum will generate “‘hundreds of thousands of jobs’ with revenue potential that could reach, ‘in the tens of billions of dollars.’” Chloe Albanesius, on pcmag.com, wrote that the FCC and Senators Jay Rockefeller, Joseph Lieberman, and John McCain support an open sale, as opposed to a handover of “a swath of spectrum known as the ‘d-block’” to public safety officials. According to Gahran, “the FCC’s National Broadband Plan calls for freeing 300 megahertz of spectrum… [adding] at least $100 billion in value to the U.S. economy”. So far, we can only benefit from the sale of spectrum. Money generated may help U.S. carriers begin switching to 4G and LTE network technology, but probably not enough, according to the FCC. If this all fails and the spectrum becomes overloaded, mobile broadband will become slow and “your smartphone ends up feeling like an expensive, fancy turtle”. Slowing the network would upset a lot of people and impede the way some people live their lives. The entire economy that is centered on broadband would begin to crumble and some businesses will fall. These reasons are why the sale of additional spectrum is gaining interest. The National Association of Broadcasters claims to be in support of selling spectrum as long as broadcasts are not interrupted. The next few years will really change broadband balances, as decisions are made to sell or expand on current spectrum. The only thing known for certain is that if more is not freed, then there will be a major slowdown in broadband connections.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/11/05/gahran.mobile.spectrum.crunch/index.html
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/-the-spectrum-crunch-president-obama-takes-on-the-shortage-of-wireless-capacity.html
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=253000,00.asp?hidPrint=true
1 comment:
I think the looming spectrum crash means that two very necessary adjustments are going to have to be made. One, which is obvious, is that the move towards 4G and beyond will be as necessary as it is swift. Two, that spectrum allocation is an issue that needs to be considered more seriously as technology moves forward. We would not be in “crunch time” if someone had performed a serious analysis of available spectrum. The problem we face now is not to catch up to our current spectrum needs, but to stay ahead of the curve. The article says that we should start to feel the spectrum crunch in about five years and the FCC has promised us 300 MHz that time. So far, that is not looking very promising. To avoid another crunch we have to make wiggle room. The FCC should be finalizing plans this month for an auction of government spectrum “real estate.” The new policies should “make for more efficient and flexible use of spectrum,” which is exactly what I think we need to ensure. Frankly, I’m disappointed that this has even become an issue with an economy that is so fragile and cannot afford another crash. Maybe the silver lining in all of this is the notion of the “hundreds of thousands of jobs” that President Obama’s memorandum should bring. Until then, I’m just going to enjoy my speedy mobile phone while I still can.
http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/52799-fcc-to-vote-on-net-neutrality-this-month
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