FCC Seeks to Open 2500-2690 MHz Bands for Wireless Broadband

The FCC opened a proceeding to facilitate the provision of fixed and mobile broadband services in the 2500-2690 MHz bands. This is more than double the 83 MHz that spurred the development of Wi-Fi at 2.4 GHz and roughly equal to all spectrum currently devoted to terrestrial, mobile wireless. Currently, the 190 megahertz of spectrum in the 2500-2690 MHz bands is designated for the provision of Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS), Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) and the Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS). The FCC will consider proposals to reconfigure the 2500-2690 MHz band, for example, either a geographic licensing approach or an unlicensed approach for available ITFS spectrum might be desirable. FCC Chairman Powell said the "2.5 GHz band has labored for years under the heavy hand of command-and-control regulation. The regime has not served the American people or the Commission's licensees particularly well."http://www.fcc.gov