Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bush administration to order spectrum review

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2003 15:22:10 -0400

Bush administration to order spectrum review

By Reuters
JUNE 05, 2003

The Bush administration today plans to order a yearlong top-to-bottom review of
how to make more
efficient use of coveted airwaves by the government and the wireless industry for
everything from
mobile telephone service to military operations, a senior administration official
said.

President George W. Bush is expected to sign an executive memorandum that will
direct the U.S.
Department of Commerce to undertake the study of ways to improve the management of
the scarce
resource that's used for commercial communications as well as the U.S. air traffic
control system.

"The review is a recognition of how important spectrum has become, not only to the
domestic
economy but to military and homeland security efforts," said the official, who
requested anonymity.

The commercial wireless industry has an almost insatiable appetite for more
airwaves, especially the
mobile telephone companies that want to offer high-speed Internet access. But they
have faced stiff
competition from the U.S. government, which recently has had a growing need for
spectrum to meet
new security and military needs.

Congress is already considering one administration proposal for making more
airwaves available to
commercial users by creating a trust fund that would take proceeds from the
auction of spectrum and
using them to cover the costs of moving government operations to other airwaves.

The Commerce Department plans to form one task force made up of the principal
government users
that would examine processes, procedures and policies for effective use of
spectrum and make
recommendations to the White House, the official said. A second group will look at
the use of
airwaves by nongovernmental entities and also make recommendations for
improvements, according
to the official.

"The radio frequency spectrum is a vital and limited natural resource and is
crucial to our economic
growth and national security," Commerce Secretary Don Evans said in a statement
obtained by
Reuters.

The Commerce Department will likely seek the involvement of industry players as
well as the Federal
Communications Commission, which regulates the commercial wireless industry and is
responsible
for auctioning the airwave licenses to be used by the industry.

The recommendations developed will be presented in a report to the president in a
year. The official
said it could also include proposals for legislative solutions.

http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,81828,00.html?nas=AM-81828 

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