Plan to double bandwidth set to debut

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is expected to propose Monday a near-doubling of the airwaves available for smartphones, laptop connections to the Internet and new wireless devices, according to an administration official.
Obama will sign a presidential memorandum pledging to free up 500 megahertz of government and commercial spectrum over 10 years, the official, who asked not to be identified in advance of the announcement, said in an e-mail.
The president’s proposals echo the National Broadband Plan proposed in March by the Federal Communications Commission, headed by Julius Genachowski, an Obama friend and appointee. It called for providing more spectrum for services such as mobile phones. The capacity of U.S. wireless networks has been strained by the proliferation of devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
“This initiative will catalyze private-sector investment, contribute to economic growth, and help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Lawrence Summers, Obama’s director of the National Economic Council, said in prepared remarks for a speech on the president’s proposal to be delivered Monday in Washington, D.C.
Obama’s plan would require both executive action and legislation, and it would draw on government and commercial airwaves the administration considers underutilized. Revenue from auctioning freed-up spectrum would go toward creating a nationwide mobile broadband system for public-safety agencies such as police and firefighters, as well as for deficit reduction, according to the administration official.
The FCC’s broadband plan calls for “the fastest and most extensive wireless networks” of any nation by 2020, to ensure wider service and spur competition with cable and telephone companies. The plan also seeks $12 billion to $16 billion to build and operate a broadband network for emergency workers, with costs covered by revenue from airwave auctions.
The agency wants to persuade TV stations to give up some of their airwaves for wireless Web use, in return for payment. Congress would be asked to authorize auctions of the spectrum. If such sales fail to free enough airwaves, the FCC should consider having broadcasters “on a voluntary or involuntary basis” change how their transmission towers work, or require channel sharing, the agency said.
Broadcasters have said they need the airwaves to serve viewers and expand into new services, such as “mobile TV.”
“Many aspects of the plan may in fact not be as voluntary as originally promised,” Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the Washington-based National Association of Broadcasters, said when the FCC plan was released.