Good things happen when spectrum is allocated to the marketplace

There has been recent legislative activity on spectrum allocation, so it is a good time to remind ourselves why moving as much spectrum as possible from government use to the marketplace is important for our country’s economic success.

As we have seen in the past, good things happen when spectrum is allocated to the marketplace. These good things include innovative services and large-scale economic effects. A report commissioned by WiFiForward, a coalition of companies and business organizations that promotes unlicensed services such as Wi-Fi, projects that the annual economic value of Wi-Fi will reach $2.4 trillion by 2027. Due to its unlicensed nature, Wi-Fi has proliferated in places such as coffee shops, hotels, airports, hospitals, and schools.

Licensed services such as those provided by wireless service providers also have a large and positive economic effects. According to CTIA – The Wireless Association, the wireless industry annually contributes $825 billion to the US economy and, by 2030, will contribute $1.5 trillion to US GDP. 

Whether for remote work or other uses, Americans have become more productive as broadband connections are available almost anywhere. Streaming options such as Netflix and YouTube have flourished because of broadband connections. Spectrum helps make all of this possible.

As data usage grows, policymakers need to ensure that there will be sufficient spectrum to meet increasing demand. WiFiForward predicts that the demand for Wi-Fi devices will increase 288 percent by 2029. CTIA data shows that in 2022 wireless networks supported more than 73.7 trillion MB of traffic, 38 percent more than in 2021. The trends are clear.

But the federal government still controls most of the coveted mid-band spectrum, with much of that reserved for the Pentagon. No one wants to impair national security, but it is important for our economy and competitiveness that the marketplace has access to sufficient spectrum.  Without it, we risk economic growth and falling behind competitors such as China.

It’s clear that spectrum is essential for the marketplace to develop critical broadband connections, drive economic growth, and meet growing consumer data demands. More good things will happen when more spectrum is allocated to the marketplace.