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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has taken a big step in freeing up more wireless spectrum for wireless broadband service providers.

The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced on Monday that it has determined that it can repurpose 95MHz of wireless spectrum used by the government for commercial use. Specifics of how and when this spectrum will be cleared, and how much it will cost, are still being developed. But the agency said its preliminary report shows that it is possible.

The addition of this 95MHz of spectrum, which lies in the 1755MHz-to-1850MHz … Read more

Has the Federal Communications Commission finally learned its lesson on spectrum management?

The FCC began proceedings yesterday that could OK Dish Network's plan to use existing spectrum to build a terrestrial 4G LTE mobile broadband network. The rulemaking follows the agency's earlier rejection of Dish's request for a waiver of license conditions, which prohibit using the spectrum for anything other than satellite-based applications.

The decision to proceed with the slower but more formal process was certainly motivated in part by the recent fiasco involving LightSquared. In January 2011, the FCC granted LightSquared a waiver similar to the … Read more

The FCC kicked off a process that should eventually allow Dish Network to use its satellite spectrum to build a 4G LTE wireless broadband network.

At its March opening meeting, the FCC voted unanimously to begin a rulemaking process aimed at letting Dish use spectrum designated for satellite use to provide a land-based wireless broadband service. Draft regulations described the service and technical rules for implementing the flexible use of the spectrum.

Dish had asked the FCC to grant it a waiver so that it could use 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band for 4G. But earlier … Read more

All eyes will be on the Federal Communications Commission in the coming months as it deals with a series of spectrum-related issues that will help determine who is a player in the mobile broadband market and who isn't.

The FCC is under pressure to get as much new spectrum on the market as soon as possible. Wireless operators say they face a crisis if they can't get additional wireless spectrum to fuel the growth of mobile data usage. But as wireless spectrum is increasingly viewed as a limited resource, regulators are faced with politically charged debates surrounding topics associated with spectrum. … Read more

LightSquared says it's not yet giving up its fight to build a nationwide 4G LTE network.

The company, which is backed by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital, has invested more than $4 billion into the network, which it hoped would be a wholesale alternative to wireless broadband networks run by AT&T and Verizon wireless. For the past year, the company has been fighting an uphill battle in Washington, D.C., where the GPS industry has rallied political support around its claims that LightSquared's network interferes with its receivers and therefore cannot be built.

So far, the … Read more

Sprint Nextel is getting into the 4G LTE game by building its own network. But to make its dreams a reality, it needs a scarce resource that every other wireless operator around the world is clamoring to get its hands on: wireless spectrum.

And Sprint has already missed two major opportunities. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first few months of this year, Sprint's board shot down the company's plan to purchase prepaid provider MetroPCS. The company also botched talks with T-Mobile USA for a network-sharing arrangement. The impetus behind each of these … Read more

T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel have asked the Federal Communications Commission to suspend its review of Verizon Wireless's purchase of wireless spectrum from cable operators.

The wireless operators want Verizon to disclose more information about the marketing deals it struck with cable operators as part of its $3.6 billion deal with these companies hashed out late last year. The companies say the FCC should suspend its 180-day review of the deal until that information is made public.

In an FCC filing, T-Mobile and Sprint were joined by DirecTV and several consumer groups in asking that Verizon Wireless provide … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission wants to know what the public has to say about government officials asking carriers to disable cell service for public safety purposes. The agency's concern is a reaction to last year's cutting of service by San Francisco Bay Area subway police ahead of a protest.

"Our democracy, our society, and our safety all require communications networks that are available and open, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "Any interruption of wireless services raises serious legal and policy issues, and must meet a very high bar. The FCC, as the agency … Read more

In a letter to the FCC, Verizon has finally expressed its ardent support of arranged marriages locked bootloaders.

Essentially, Verizon argues it knows better than its users which kind of bride or groom user experience its ungrateful children customers prefer--why spend each day with the love of your life some unstable mod when you can have your socially inept second cousin MotoBlur instead?

Droid Life obtained a copy of the letter to the FCC, which was prompted by a formal complaint from a user. Verizon's response dismisses the complaint with typical carrier-speak:… Read more