CTIA’s Baker: No Long term Spectrum Plan

The future is closer than many think and just wait until the remaining third of Americans start using smartphones...We need infrastructure, we need standards and technologies, and most importantly, we need spectrum. Mobile broadband demand cannot be met by improved spectral efficiency alone, more towers and more wireless infrastructure can never be enough, and AWS-3 and the incentive auction will not suffice. To continue to provide the services consumers demand, we will need substantially more licensed and unlicensed spectrum. We need a renewed discussion on where the next bands of airwaves will come from to ensure our future connected life is realized. We just had AWS-3, and the broadcast incentive auction looms ahead of us. And after that, right now, we don't know what's next. We have no plan beyond 2020 to accommodate mobile growth, and the closer we get, the more daunting the time line looks. Because spectrum policy is a long game, we need to start planning today. Just months after AWS-3, it may seem strange to be here, saying we have to start again. But we do.