Federal government must free up more spectrum

The federal government could create a massive revenue generator, without increasing taxes, if Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and his 24 colleagues on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation help pass legislation to transfer wireless resources from Washington's control to the private sector.

There are more than 355 million wireless subscribers in the United States today, including 2.7 million in Nevada. Wireless communication allows Americans to talk, shop and conduct business with increasing productivity. As a result, we are now the leading information economy on the planet.

However, most of the data-dependent public does not know that wireless devices rely upon a finite yet extremely valuable resource known as spectrum, the invisible radio signals that facilitate the connection of wireless devices. According to industry experts, spectrum accounts for $10 trillion in consumer benefits each year.

"Like land, there is only so much of it — the physical world provides only so wide a range of radio wave frequencies," said former Undersecretary of Commerce Ev Ehrlich. We cannot create more spectrum. We can only reallocate it or allow shared use of it. It is estimated that the federal government owns as much as 70 percent of all useable radio airwaves.

Due to this remarkable discrepancy and the historic rise in data-hogging services such as video — predicted to be 80 percent of all web traffic by 2019 — wireless networks are already at or near capacity. This represents a dire threat to Internet-dependent consumers and to America's information-based economy.

Leaders in Congress, including Heller, have sought to fix this issue through legislation. The recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 included a provision called the Spectrum Pipeline Act, which mandates that the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration identify and sell unused and underused spectrum currently held by federal agencies to commercial entities.

More recently, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., unveiled the MOBILE Now Act, a more aggressive piece of legislation that would amend the Pipeline Act to bring far more government-held resources to market.

"The mobile broadband bill is designed to coax federal agencies into giving up some of their wireless spectrum," reports The Hill. "Supporters of the strategy say that the agencies have rights to frequencies that could be better utilized by the private sector, as wireless carriers struggle to meet the soaring demand for mobile data consumed by smartphones."

This thinking is similar to (albeit far less polarizing) the government's leveraging of its strategic oil reserves for needed supply at the gas pump, leading to increased revenue for the federal government. The effect would put consumers in a position to end the government's hoarding of spectrum.

As a result, we would finally realize the true potential from the development of, and transition to, "5G" networks. More spectrum means better and faster service and fewer data constraints or caps, resulting in potentially lower prices for consumers. "From faster LTE networks to smart appliances and Internet-connected vehicles, the additional spectrum could support a range of applications and services," says The Washington Post.

We would also generate significant revenue for the federal government, without any new taxes — a key factor for Republicans, and a result even Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his Democratic colleagues could support. Earlier this year, a government-held auction amassed nearly $45 billion, some of which went to the U.S. Treasury. The MOBILE Now Act would release more than seven times the amount of airwaves from that auction. The potential for revenue is very real.

We must hope that this bill passes soon. According to CTIA, once spectrum is allocated, it takes 13 years to bring it to market. An upcoming, critically important spectrum auction occurring sometime in 2016 will transfer some airwaves from broadcasters to wireless providers. However, there are no future auctions on the books.

The MOBILE Now Act is a win-win-win: for consumers, for a government in need of money, and for a Congress in need of successes. Unlike countless other bills, this measure has a real chance to pass and become law. The goals of the bill are widely supported by both parties.

Nevadans will be the beneficiaries of this legislation, and they need to let their leaders know of their support.

— Christopher D. Coursen is founder of The Status Group. He formerly served as majority communications counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee and advised the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.