ECONOMISTS SAY GOVT. AGENCIES MUST PAY FOR SPECTRUM

摘要

Govt. officials and economists clashed Tues. as the Commerce Department抯 National Telecom & Information Administration (NTIA) opened a 2-day meeting in D.C. -- part of the build-up to an NTIA report on improving the efficiency of govt. spectrum use. The agency is investigating whether govt. entities like DoJ should compete for spectrum, subject to their budget limits on capital outlays. 揟he public sector is going to have to pay for spectrum the same way the police department pays for its patrol cars,?said Lawrence White, prof. of economics at N.Y.U.: 揑f [the govt.] wants to build a new police station they have to buy the land or rent the land. This is just another resource that needs to be paid for.?br> nBut Merri Jo Gamble, DoJ spectrum mgr., said many local first responder agencies already hold bake sales and such to buy gear. She asked if they now should have to pay for their use of spectrum, too, and if that would boost state and local taxes. Gamble warned that assessing the value of spectrum to the govt. and economic return versus outlays would be tough