Increasing Spectrum Efficiency Through the Secondary Market

With the release of the National Broadband Plan, there have been many discussions about what needs to be done in order to accommodate the need for additional spectrum given the finite supply of resources. While we are taking steps in the right direction as far as reallocating additional spectrum for commercial use through the radio spectrum inventory act, these bands are slated to be released over the next 10 years – in which time, the already overwhelming demand for bandwidth is expected to surpass the amount of spectrum available. However, these numbers do not necessarily take into account the inefficiency of existing spectrum use. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, FCC Chairman Genachowski said, “We’ve got to work on spectrum policies that generate greater efficiency. For example, creating new and better markets for secondary markets in spectrum…Literally trading spectrum.”

At Spectrum Bridge, we understand the importance of utilizing a secondary market to help increase the efficiency of existing spectrum resources – there simply is not enough bandwidth for all of the applications consumers utilize on a day-to-day basis. In an effort to help bring more spectrum to the market and help to solve the spectrum scarcity issue, we filed a proposal with the FCC recommending two alternatives to the existing process of auctioning off licensed spectrum.
• The FCC lists the spectrum on an on-line secondary market exchange at the current market value, allowing for competitive bidding.
• The FCC proceeds with an auction as proposed, raising the minimum bid to the fair market value. Once the auction is completed, list all unsold licenses on an online secondary market exchange to allow for competitive bidding.

Both of these alternatives would promote access to unused and underutilized spectrum, consistent with the National Broadband Plan recommendations.

What’s the difference between holding a spectrum auction and placing it on an electronic exchange?

As the FCC stated in the NBP, “The goal of the FCC’s current secondary market policies is to eliminate regulatory barriers that might hinder access to, and permit more efficient use of, valuable spectrum resources.” While the auction process has been in place for many years, it is not necessarily the most efficient way to transact spectrum. The existing process hinders the creation of a competitive marketplace that an online exchange can address. In many cases, valuable spectrum resources that are auctioned off are not efficiently utilized after purchase, but may sit idle until the next spectrum auction. By taking spectrum off of the auction block, and placing it directly in front of buyers on an electronic spectrum exchange, a larger, more competitive buying pool is created.

To read our comments to the FCC regarding maximizing spectrum efficiency through the use of a secondary market for spectrum, click here.

- Joe Hamilla, COO

Alternative Spectrum Solutions - Providing Nationwide Broadband Access

Among the flurry of discussion surrounding the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to be released next week, two issues as previously outlined by Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, have received a great deal of attention within the industry. The first being the goal of boosting national access speeds to 100 Mbps for 100 million homes by 2020, and the second goal of freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum over the next decade by allowing broadcast television stations to sell some of their spectrum for mobile broadband purposes. While neither has been set in stone, the costs associated with these goals have been enough to spark heated discussions and commentary on blogs and articles over the past few weeks.

In an article from 4GWE, the estimated combined costs of these goals will take an investment of up to $500 billion. While this is no small number, the benefits of these two aspects of the plan are enormous – bringing broadband capabilities to every corner of the country will provide new opportunities to millions of Americans. Broadband has become a necessity in this day and age to enable more Americans to stay connected to the ever-changing world around them. However, as found in the Broadband Adoption and Use in America study by the FCC, 35% of Americans do not have broadband at home, with the top reason for non-adoption being cost – whether it be the cost of services, computers, installation fees, or a combination of all three.

Spectrum Bridge Launches First iPhone Application for TV White Spaces

Here's your freebie for the day:

Now you can find out what TV White Spaces channels are available wherever you are--directly from your iPhone--for free.

Created by Spectrum Bridge, "ShowMyWhiteSpaces" is the first iPhone application for locating available TV White Spaces channels anywhere in the US.

TV White Spaces availability varies significantly across the country. With our new iPhone app, users simply enter the address or areas they are interested in finding TV White Spaces bandwidth and get a list of available channels and frequencies.

What can you do with TV White Spaces? Expect to use them for powering many existing services--and some new ones as well:

• High-speed Internet connections to SmartPhones, netbooks and laptops
• Extended range and reliability of home and enterprise WiFi networks
• Power new long-range cordless phone and video systems, create reliable whole-house media distribution and many other innovative new bandwidth intensive applications
• Create a cost-effective wireless communications network for a broad range of enterprise and industrial applications including smart grid, smart city, telemedicine and other advanced mobile internet applications

The best part is you get to enjoy this small piece of TV White Spaces history for free.

To download your free application, visit the Apple Inc. iPhone App store.

For more information on TV White Spaces and their potential applications, visit the ShowMyWhiteSpace.com website, or SpectrumBridge.com. Also, you can now download the free app for the Android. Click here for more information.

Enjoy!

Spectrum Marketplace Gets Upgraded

SpecEx, the online marketplace for spectrum™ announced new features for members and visitors this week. An email alert was sent out notifying members and interested parties of the recent upgrades, with a bulleted list of additions:

• Real-time searches for available spectrum – now open to ALL visitors – search now
• Satellite mapping of offered frequencies
• Share, print or bookmark favorite listings
• “Knowledge Center” containing complete historical auction data

These features were added to the original SpecEx features:

• Nationwide spectrum inventory
• Request spectrum you need
• Custom “Watch List” feature
• One-step easy listing of unused spectrum assets
• A growing channel partner program
• Access to spectrum experts

One of the most significant changes to the SpecEx site is the ability for non-members to do a search for available spectrum from the homepage. Earlier versions of the site required membership to search through the marketplace's inventory (with a possible fee attached). But now, with the browsing ability open to all, the SpecEx site has become more friendly to anyone curious to what is accessible on the secondary market.