Spectrum-Shortage Outlook Is Grim

According to CTIA-The Wireless Association (www.ctia.org), the US government controls  409.5 MHz of spectrum for  commercial wireless services—although not all of that bandwidth is at ideal frequencies. The frequency range best suited for high-speed, commercial wireless-broadband services is between 400 MHz and 3 GHz. But wireless-network operators have access to less than 16% of these critical airwaves. Nearly 85% of the spectrum needed to support consumer demand is occupied primarily by government agencies and television broadcasters.

To call attention to this problem, Mobile Future (www.mobilefuture.org) has released an infographic, “Growing Demand for Wireless Spectrum.” It shows how booming consumer demand for mobile data contrasts with the small percentage of airwaves available to support that demand in the future. To view the full infographic, visit http://mftr.org/Rh1IFw.