Walden: Congress Won't Be Rushed Into Spectrum Decision

Does not know whether incentive auction bill will be passed this year

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/13/2011 12:02:16 PM

"There are a lot of wolves at the door when it comes to spectrum," House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden said Wednesday, but he conceded there was a huge demand behind all that huffing and puffing.

He told an American Cable Association summit audience that spectrum was an important and valuable commodity held by the public--he is a former broadcaster--and that country needed to get the spectrum issue right.

Walden told reporters afterwards that he did not know whether an incentive auction bill paying broadcasters for giving up spectrum would be passed this year. The FCC has been pushing Congress to pass a bill ASAP so it can reclaim spectrum for wireless broadband before a looming spectrum crunch gets any worse.

But Walden was suggesting a more tortoise than hare approach. He said he would not be "rushed by arbitrary or historical timelines or deadlines," adding: "I want to make sure the subcommittee and the full committee have as solid an understanding of spectrum needs and demands and issues involved as possible before we legislate." He said he does plan to legislate, but that he "wants to get it right" the first time.

The subcommittee held the first of several spectrum hearings Tuesday, with a focus on spectrum for emergency communications. Walden said future hearings will also look at who has spectrum, who is using it, what the demands and needs are, what issues arise when you change things, how is the marketplace affected, and who pays for it.