AT&T execs want more spectrum, lighter regulation

AT&T executives are pushing the government to allocate more spectrum for wireless broadband and back off on regulation in order to keep the mobile broadband growth engine revving.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility and the new chairman of CTIA, and Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, each spoke at the CTIA 2010 wireless trade show Tuesday about how the US leads the world in wireless broadband, but they emphasized the need for more spectrum and a light regulatory touch from the government to keep the momentum going. Stephenson said that demand for mobile broadband will grow twice as fast as demand for traditional DSL and cable modem services. The key to meeting this demand is directly related to carriers' ability to access more spectrum, they said. The CTIA has asked the FCC to free up an additional 800MHz of spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission said in its National Broadband Plan filed last week that it will work to get 500MHz of spectrum freed in the next 10 years. It expects to get 300MHz available within the next three years.