CES: Genachowski: More TV Spectrum Could Be Reclaimed Within Two Years

FCC chairman reiterates warning about 'spectrum crunch'

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2011 6:21:28 PM

Las Vegas - Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski reiterated his position that the U.S. faces a "spectrum crunch" and said that if the agency gets the Congressional go-ahead it could reclaim wireless spectrum from TV broadcasters and auction it within two years.

Genachowski, in a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show here Friday, said mobile broadband was critical to fueling the country's economic growth and keeping it globally competitive.

"The consumer electronics industry is going wireless... We need to free up more spectrum," Genachowski said. "Unleashing mobile spectrum is at the top of the FCC's 2011 agenda."

He added, "We could be in a position, if Congress acts, to auction this spectrum in the next year or two and get that on the market... Every day we have a delay we'll have a cost to the U.S. in terms of our global competitiveness."

He called wireless spectrum "the oxygen that sustains our mobile devices," adding, "This invisible infrastructure is the backbone of a growing percentage of our economy and our lives."

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