WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today announced that they are initiating a series of meetings to explore the feasibility of expanding access to unlicensed spectrum for consumer use. The leaders will meet with the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Department of Transportation to discuss their efforts to increase availability of unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band.
“Whether for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the countless uses we have not yet dreamed of, unlicensed spectrum has been a source of tremendous innovation that drives our Internet economy," said full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), and Ranking Member Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA).
They continued, “We will examine the FCC and administration’s efforts to safely increase unlicensed access to the 5.9 GHz band without harming the existing work being done to improve auto safety through Intelligent Transportation Systems. In working with the FCC, NTIA, and the Department of Transportation, we hope to move forward in accelerating a solution that will be another example of the United States’ leading the way in global spectrum policy."
Background
Included in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 were provisions requiring the administration to study the feasibility of increasing unlicensed spectrum use in the 5 GHz band. In November 2013, the Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing exploring the administration’s progress and the private sector’s development of technologies designed for unlicensed use. More on that hearing here.
