Obama calls for dramatic expansion of wireless spectrum

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"Acknowledging a looming threat to the market for handheld devices that rely on fast wireless connections, President Barack Obama on Monday directed the federal government to nearly double the nation's capacity of broadband spectrum over the next decade.

In a presidential memorandum signed Monday, Obama called on federal agencies to identify some 500 megahertz of spectrum controlled by the government or private entities to be freed up, primarily for mobile broadband use. Currently, wireless companies have about 534 megahertz allotted to them.

Consumers are flocking to buy smartphones, tablet computers and other wireless gadgets. But without a robust wireless network, those devices can't perform as advertised, as iPhone users frustrated with dropped calls and slow Web connections on AT&T's network can attest. Obama's announcement, which administration officials called the federal government's most ambitious effort ever to free up spectrum, is designed to head off broader problems and accommodate the booming market for data-hungry devices.

Although the spectrum proposal mirrors a plan first unveiled by the Federal Communications Commission this spring, the presidential endorsement could lend significant momentum to the push to free up wireless broadband. Officials said the reallocation of airwaves would be voluntary, employing tools such as spectrum auctions to compensate those who agree to relinquish their unused or under-used spectrum."

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