Cleland: Govt. Is Major Spectrum Hoarder

Precursor Group president says pointing fingers at wireless industry is misdirection

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/7/2013 9:32:13 AM

Scott Cleland, president of Precursor Group and chairman of Net Competition (members include the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and the American Cable Association and major wireless carriers), says that the problem with spectrum availability is government hoarding.

In a blog posting, Cleland used words like "scandalous," "mismanagement" and "dysfunction" to describe what he said was the government's "waste, fraud and abuse" of the precious resource of spectrum.

He says the government has been wrongly pointing fingers at the wireless private sector for lack of competition, availability and affordability when the government is hoarding 85% of spectrum.

Cleland also said the government's role as hoarders-in-chief had been ignored by industry, watchdog groups and Congress.

There are administration efforts, overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to free up some government spectrum, either by reclamation or sharing, but not nearly the 1,400 MHz Cleland says it could give up were the government to control only 30% of that spectrum, as it does about 30% of land in the country.