Justin Velez-Hagan
+ FollowMemo to the President: Wireless Spurs Economic Growth
Someone once asked President John Kennedy what the difference was between the easy decisions he made as President and the hard ones. The President replied that all his decisions were difficult because if they were easy, someone else would have made them.
I thought of that story while listening to the follow-up chatter to President Obama’s State of the Union speech. The President has many difficult challenges, especially on crucial issues for Hispanics. The economy, immigration, labor rights, the environment — all are vital issues for groups like the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), who are strong advocates for issues relating to Hispanics.
But there is one action the President can take that will help him succeed in each of these areas. He can commit his Administration to holding wireless spectrum auctions this year to expand the airwaves needed for our mobile phones and tablets. The President should immediately request Congress to adopt legislation that will enable the FCC to move this process forward – now.
The President should demand a wireless auction where companies with sufficient capital that are ready, willing and able to deploy new services have the opportunity to bid on any available block of spectrum. Wireless companies that can acquire spectrum in an open and competitive auction will be best positioned to serve their customers. Look at it from the standpoint of consumers. There are six or seven large facilities-based carriers with the ability to bid competitively for spectrum. If some of these carriers are denied the chance to win the spectrum they need, the millions of consumers using those carriers’ services and equipment will suffer.
The key is making sure that all companies can participate in the auction. Regulators do not need to pick winners and losers. Wireless users are more than capable of doing that.
With so many difficult decisions in front of him, this is one of the easiest, almost obvious ways for President Obama to chalk up an important success with lasting benefits. Our wireless airwaves are the virtual highways that carry all the data that millions of Americans increasingly use every day. For Hispanics, this is especially important because there is no question that the Digital Divide continues within their communities.
Research by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that although Hispanics and African Americans lag behind in technology use and internet access, we are more likely to use our cell phones for internet access. Only 45 percent of Hispanics subscribe to broadband compared to 68 percent of white Americans. Only 29 percent of rural Hispanics have broadband service, primarily because it is not yet available in many rural communities.
Adding wireless spectrum would be a huge stride forward for America and for Hispanics specifically. With this one action, the President could improve high-speed Internet deployment, narrow the Digital Divide, improve the quality and speed of our wireless services, and expand good jobs for Hispanic Americans.
To understand why this is so important, it helps to realize that the last time the federal government made wireless spectrum available for mobile phone users was 2008. Back then, only about 20% of phones sold in the US were “smartphones.” The iPhone was only a year old and in July, Apple had opened its new App Store. This may have only been a few short years ago but in terms of how we live our lives, it’s almost another world.
The contrast between then and now in terms of our reliance on mobile services could not be any more stark. Yet the federal government has not made any new spectrum available. This is especially disappointing given the Obama campaign’s brilliant use of wireless services to mobilize millions. If anyone should understand the power of wireless, it is the men and women around the President.
Still, these efforts continue to languish for lack of attention. And as a result, many in the country suffer.
Wireless Internet service is critical to so many areas of our economy, especially economic growth and job creation. The Obama Administration should act quickly and decisively to make more spectrum available. This should be an open process, available to any company, and above all, it needs to happen quickly.
JUSTIN VELEZ-HAGAN is Senior Contributing Writer and Commentator for Politic365.com. He is also the National Executive Director of The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce and an international developer of senior living facilities. He can be reached at Justin@Politic365.com.
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2 Responses to Memo to the President: Wireless Spurs Economic Growth
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I'm a bit biased since my career track (information systems analysis) obviously depends on the success of the telecom industry if I want a job or want to start up something, I fully agree we need more wireless bandwidth and pronto. However, the question I pose is that does this set things up for oligopolist companies that can act as "loss leaders" (e.g. AT&T, Verizon, et al) to buy massive amounts and sway auction results? Will there be an "entry fee" required that would hurt smaller businesses in order to bid? I would really like to see details of this auction. If it takes place, I feel that the auction policies should promote equal competition. Living in a somewhat isolated area (Bloomington, 70 miles SW of Indy and hemmed in by limestone hills that block many wireless signals), I am concerned for who might take bandwidth in my region. AT&T for all? I'm not sure.