Wireless Innovation Act

In January 2007, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., reintroduced the Wireless Innovation Act, (Govtrack) which would require the FCC to permit license-free use of the unassigned broadcast spectrum between 54 MHz and 698 MHz. The legislation is designed to enable entrepreneurs to provide affordable, competitive high-speed wireless broadband services in areas that otherwise have no broadband connectivity to the Internet.

“Just as President Roosevelt recognized a responsibility to make electricity available to rural families in his New Deal, and just as President Eisenhower recognized the necessity of a National Highway System that would enable substantial economic growth in the country, it is time for us to make this technology available to the hard-to-reach communities that need it – rural and urban,” Kerry said in a statement. “At a time when the U.S. is lagging behind much of the world in broadband penetration – and more than 60% of the country does not subscribe to broadband service primarily because it is either unavailable or unaffordable – this legislation would put this country one step closer to achieving ubiquitous broadband Internet access throughout America.”



Related SourceWatch resources

 * See the other articles at the Telecom, Media and Intellectual Property Policy (U.S.) portal.
 * See the main Congresspedia article on Digital television.
 * See the main Congresspedia article on Spectrum.

External Resources

 * Lennard Kruger, The Digital TV Transition: A Brief Overview Congressional Research Service, Aug. 12, 2005.
 * Lennard Kruger, Digital Television: An Overview Congressional Research Service, updated Jan. 23, 2007.