Sen Snowe's office questions spectrum crunch

Matthew Hussey, the telecom adviser for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), questioned the existence of a spectrum crunch that the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have repeatedly invoked as justification for measures to repurpose TV airwaves to mobile broadband companies.

At a Brookings Institution event, Hussey asked, "Do we have a crisis, first of all? A crunch?" Though Hussey was generally supportive of incentive auctions, he called on policymakers to collect more data, urging Congress to look at spectrum with a "much more holistic, comprehensive view" than it has up to this point. He also questioned the FCC's definition of "comprehensive spectrum inventory." FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has previously told Snowe that the FCC has already completed a spectrum inventory, referring to a baseline analysis of spectrum use. Hussey said that his office would still like to see a fuller inventory take place. He said it does not have to precede incentive auction legislation. Hussey also said that more data is needed before Congress can act on spectrum issues. He said the National Broadband Plan relied on by the FCC does not discuss key ways to alleviate spectrum demands, such as femtocells. While he said there's "no need to delay" on spectrum issues, policymakers need to "stop talking in generalities" and "start peeling the layers of the onion back so we can contemplate reforms" to communications law.