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.

Find Available Licensed Spectrum Online

EVENT PRESENTATION SERIES
Key portions of presentations given by Spectrum Bridge
Post 3

In answer to the FCC’s request for making spectrum more readily available and easier to obtain, there have been a variety of methods created for license holders and new entities looking to complete spectrum transactions. Many of these exist in the spreadsheets on the desks of traditional Spectrum Brokers, but the standout of the wireless industry is called SpecEx.

As the online marketplace for spectrum™, SpecEx allows unequalled access to frequencies currently being offered by license holders. Dubbed “the eBay of wireless spectrum,” a visitor of SpecEx.com can quickly search available licenses by radio code, frequency band, location and more.

SpecEx also acts as a service to request specific frequencies of spectrum across the US. If a visitor cannot find what they are searching for in the exchange’s database, the site accepts spectrum requests from members and non-members alike. With their secondary market knowledge, SpecEx associates help find frequencies and even post requests to the “Wanted Ads” section of the Website.

With a next-generation exchange like SpecEx, professionals have a streamlined way to sell, lease, partition, disaggregate, time share and purchase spectrum; just as the FCC has envisioned. In a world where we hear the phrase, “spectrum scarcity” used so often, this online exchange provides instant access to available spectrum and removes previous roadblocks of secondary market spectrum transactions.

Next in the series, we’ll discuss the Future of TV White Spaces