Are we running out of spectrum?: Wireless companies say that smartphones are threatening to overwhelm their networks, and are asking the government for help. But some experts maintain that technology already has the answers. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint say they need more radio spectrum, the government-rationed slices of radio waves that carry phone calls and wireless data.
Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cellphone, says that claims by mobile carriers of a so-called spectrum crisis are largely exaggerated.
The wireless carriers say that in the next few years they may not have enough of it to meet the exploding demands for mobile data. The result, they ominously warn, may be slower or spotty connections on smartphones and tablets. They imply in carefully couched language that, given the laws of supply and demand, the price of cellphone service will soar.
But is there really a crisis? Some scientists and engineers say the companies are playing a game that is more about protecting their businesses from competitors. Cooper is not convinced that the wireless industry faces a serious challenge that cannot be overcome with technology. Cooper, a former vice-president of Motorola and chairman of Dyna, an incubator for new companies, says that claims of a so-called crisis are largely exaggerated.
Cooper also sits on the technical advisory committee of the Federal Communications Commission. He explained that for carriers, buying spectrum is the easiest way for them to expand their network, but newer technologies, like improved antennas and techniques for offloading mobile traffic to Wi-Fi networks, could multiply the number of mobile devices that carriers can serve by at least tenfold.
The FCC divides up the spectrum by bands of frequency, under the theory that no one wants signals on certain frequencies interfering with one another. The FCC hands out licences for each frequency band to entities like the military, TV stations, astronomy researchers and the phone carriers. Carriers now want some of the spectrum others have and are seeking nod from the FCC to buy it at government auction or by buying licences for it.
Verizon has been trying to buy wireless spectrum licences from a group of cable companies, including Time Warner and Comcast. These transactions are being opposed by T-Mobile USA and some other smaller players.
The FCC believes that a combination of adding new spectrum and using new technologies will be needed to help the wireless industry evolve.