The following is a statement by Steve Pociask, president and CEO for the American Consumer Institute: “The FCC’s decision to move forward with the C-band auction before the end of 2020, and provide incumbents with incentive payments to clear bands by 2021, is a win for America in the race to 5G. Mid-band spectrum is […]
auctions
ACI Event Video: Alleviating the Spectrum Crunch
Experts forecast there will be over 31 billion IoT devices by 2023. To power these devices and the wireless networks that support them, the United States needs to ensure that the spectrum that powers these networks are put to their highest and best use to meet consumer demand and build new markets. Join us for […]
Coalition Calls for Expediting C-Band Spectrum Auctions
Today ACI joined Heritage Action, the American Enterprise Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, R-Street and the Lincoln Network in sending a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee calling for private auctions of C-Band Spectrum. Such an auction would prevent years of delay that a government-run auction would create, thereby speeding spectrum for 5G […]
The Next Spectrum Auctions
Spectrum is the engine of the mobile wireless industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regularly runs auctions so carriers can retool with additional spectrum. The exclusive right to use segments of the electromagnetic spectrum can be very costly, particularly since the bidding is done for specific frequencies in specific locales. To illustrate the complexity, Carrier […]
Chasing Wi-Fi Speed, Coverage, and Compatibility
The GSM association reports that 4.7 billion subscribers used mobile wireless during 2015 and 1 billion used the high speed 4G mobile wireless technology. Video is soaking up whatever spectrum capacity operators make available, and the demand for bandwidth will continue growing. With 5G technology still under development and years away from widespread deployment, mobile […]
ACI in Forbes: The Spectrum Shortage Is Coming
The booming demand for wireless services continues to be big news and it should be. A recent report estimates 2014 total wireless subscriber connections to have topped 355 million, along with nearly 2 trillion text messages and more than 4 trillion megabits of wireless data traffic. The brisk rise in smartphone users, increase in video streaming and […]
DOJ’s Twisted Logic: Rigging Auctions Promotes Competition
It is with total disbelief that I write about a recent letter from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the rules for the upcoming “competitive” Spectrum auction. In the letter, the DOJ – the United States’ chief antitrust and law enforcement agency – writes in support of […]
ACI in Real Clear Policy
As wireless broadband grow continues to outpace the spectrum available, there are risks of congestion and poorer service. The FCC, Congress and the President have pledged to get more spectrum online as soon as possible. This article, written by Alan Daley discusses an easy source of Wi-Fi spectrum.
Consumers Pay for FCC Arrogance
In an auction of underused TV spectrum coming next spring, the FCC was tasked by Congress to repurpose TV channels into wireless broadband so that consumers’ voracious demand can be satisfied while prices are kept at affordable levels. The FCC’s auction is supposed to accomplish five things at once: first, encourage mobile wireless service operators […]
ACI in the Hill’s Congressional Blog: Time for the FCC to Reconsider
This piece, published in the Hill’s Congressional Blog by ACI’s president, Steve Pociask, discusses how the FCC’s restrictive wireless auction rules — rules that favor some bidders over others — is a recipe for failure. The article shows that the auction rules will limit the proceeds, which in encourage fewer TV broadcasters to give up their spectrum. That, […]