Small companies bemoan barriers to wireless

Government regulations and a scarcity of bandwidth are two of the biggest problems that small businesses run into when trying to take advantage of new technology, executives and analysts told the House Small Business Committee.

Those hurdles can prevent some companies from taking advantage of new and improved tools, they said. “There are tremendous opportunities for small businesses in a number of different areas if we can overcome the obstacles that currently exist,” said Darrell West, head of the Brookings Institution’s center for technology innovation. “Small firms face a number of different problems in the areas of regulation, spectrum availability, infrastructure and access.” Members of the committee heard from executives from companies that use wireless technology on farms, for transportation and to connect solar-powered garbage cans that compact trash and recycling. “The regulatory process is cumbersome for a small company,” said Michael Feldman, the vice president of engineer at BigBelly Solar, which makes “smart” trash cans that communicate with a central database. “Small businesses, entrepreneurs that are trying to get into and use a wirelessly-connected product can really be overwhelmed with not just the paperwork but the certifications and the testing that needs to go into it.”