FCC Chairman Not Sure FCC Can Gauge Spectrum Demands

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski raised doubts that the FCC would be able to figure out just what the spectrum demands of will be, but made it clear that the wireless industry would need more. The FCC's Wireless bureau chief added that it would need to find it quickly, while broadband advisor Blair Levin said some broadcasters had been receptive to suggestions that they give up some of theirs. "I am not confident that we will identify the spectrum we will need to meet the demands of the country," Chairman genachowski told reporters Wednesday following an FCC public meeting featuring a status report on the gaps between where the nation is and needs to be in terms of broadband deployment and adoption. Chairman Genachowski said he thinks there needs to be a lot of work done by all parts of the broadband "ecosystem" (a term echoed throughout the meeting to suggest the holistic approach necessary to solve the problem of broadband deployment and adoption). He said not meeting those spectrum demands is one of the "main risks" to a successful plan. He said the answer has multiple answers, one of which is identifying sufficient spectrum, another is finding ways to use spectrum more efficiently as well as having more efficient devices.