House Passes Spectrum Inventory Bill

As the Federal Communications Commission works to free up more spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless Internet services, the House passed legislation Wednesday requiring an inventory, mapping and accounting of the spectrum being used by federal and nonfederal entities.

The bill (H.R. 3125), passed by a 394-18 vote, would require the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC to undertake a comprehensive survey of the nation's spectrum and report to Congress on how it is being used. They also would be required to provide recommendations on which, if any, of the underused blocks spectrum should be reallocated for commercial use or be subjected to spectrum sharing with commercial users. A similar bill is S. 649, is teed up in the Senate.