The Hill News

In early December, I wrote an article asking how the FCC can avoid the looming spectrum crisis that’s coming at us faster every time someone buys a tablet computer or downloads a video. As it turns 2012, the question is even more urgent: Now what? What does the government propose to do about spectrum?

From a tech perspective, one of the strongest arguments in favor of the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger was the complementarities of the two companies’ spectrum. In simple terms, it meant the merged company would have been able to efficiently use the combined spectrum to handle more calls, data, and video than is currently possible. Still, even with the most skilled network managers, only so many bits can fit onto one strand of spectrum. It’s one of the reasons smartphone conne! ctions drop, or video downloads stall, or e-mail experiences delay on your mobile phone â€" there’s a limit to how much space is in the airwaves.

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