FCC Overhauls Spectrum Leasing Rules

The FCC adopted new rules intended to make spectrum leasing more responsive to market forces. The FCC said its streamlined procedures would encourage licensees to freely lease their unused or unneeded spectrum capacity, thereby increasing the amount of spectrum available to prospective users and new wireless technologies. Similarly, the steps taken to streamline the license assignment and transfer process will also enhance access to spectrum by a variety of entities. The FCC is encouraging the development of secondary markets for spectrum by providing a streamlined approval process for transfers and assignments of licenses. The new policies affect both mobile and fixed services, including Cellular, Personal Communications Services (PCS), Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR), Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS), fixed microwave, 24 GHz, and 39 GHz, among others.


FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell described the action as "one of the most important spectrum reform decisions by this Commission in the last decade." Powell predicts that consumers will ultimately benefit because the cost-benefit equation for spectrum sharing will be transformed. A carrier with a business plan that calls for serving only the most densely populated portions of its service area now has every incentive to lease the balance of their spectrum to someone else. As cognitive radios and frequency-agile technologies are introduced, the more flexible spectrum leasing rules could open new opportunities.
http://www.fcc.gov