FCC to Act Quickly and Auction AWS-3 Spectrum for Free Nationwide Broadband Service
Published August 14th, 2008
WASHINGTON – Senator Wyden, a strong and long time advocate for the open Internet and technology innovation, has joined his House colleagues by introducing a Senate bill, S 3420, calling for the prompt auction of the 2155-2180 MHz spectrum band (also known as AWS-3). The legislation directs the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to auction the AWS-3 spectrum within 6 months of the enactment of the legislation.
Similar to the bipartisan House bill (HR 5846) that was introduced by Representatives Eshoo, Markey and Cannon last April, Senator Wyden’s legislation calls for the AWS-3 spectrum to be used for Open Access broadband services with the additional requirement that the spectrum also be used to deliver a nationwide free broadband service similar to the one the lifeline broadband service proposed by FCC Chairman Martin this past May.
S 3420 also requires the FCC to promptly issue technical findings that address potential mutual harmful interference issues between the unpaired TDD AWS-3 spectrum and adjacent paired FDD spectrum bands and to rely on the International Telecommunications Union (“ITU”) findings to do so. The ITU, as well as other international regulators such as the United Kingdom’s Ofcom, have previously concluded that TDD/FDD operations may co-exist with minimal interference concerns based on their exhaustive and impartial studies.
Senator Wyden’s bill is further demonstration of the strong support that FCC Chairman Martin’s “free lifeline broadband service” proposal is receiving from members of Congress interested in advancing technological innovation and America’s global competitiveness in today’s digital age. To date, the FCC has received support for this proposal from over 400 state, local, federal government officials throughout the country as well as thousands of ordinary citizens including the 50,000 Americans that signed an online petition with the Coalition for Free Broadband Now calling on the FCC to make the AWS-3 band available for a free nationwide broadband service.
About the Coalition for Free Broadband Now
Coalition for Free Broadband Now is an emerging organization of civic and business groups, community leaders, citizens and companies who believe that Americans deserves better broadband Internet service in order to remain competitive globally. Specifically, the Coalition for Free Broadband Now supports free, family-friendly and fast Universal Broadband Access. For more information, visit www.FreeBroadbandNow.org
