The cellular industry repeated that the FCC should move assertively to find spectrum to reallocate for wireless broadband. The commission's study of which bands should be reallocated touched off a firestorm of protests from broadcasters, but carriers aren't backing down. The comments frame what's expected to be a major debate at the FCC in coming months. "In its initial comments, CTIA described two areas that are ripe for Commission attention: (i) broadcast spectrum; and (ii) spectrum below 3 GHz that is currently allocated for fixed wireless use," the association said in reply comments on a public notice on spectrum for wireless broadband for the National Broadband Plan. nnCTIA said the FCC should "leave no stone unturned" as it seeks to identify large contiguous blocks of spectrum suitable for broadband wireless service. "The record is replete with evidence -- whether from the International Telecommunication Union, equipment vendors such as Cisco Systems, Qualcomm, and Motorola, or wireless broadband providers -- demonstrating that mobile data traffic has grown and is expected to continue to grow dramatically." AT&T said the search for additional spectrum should be "exhaustive, and include not only federal spectrum use, but also television broadcast spectrum and mobile satellite spectrum in the 2 GHz band." The FCC's top priority should be "identifying spectrum that possesses appropriate propagation characteristics, is proximate to other mobile for new, and highly efficient, modulation techniques."
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