Kohl, Hatch call on FCC to give spectrum to new wireless carriers

Sens Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski asking the agency to put spectrum already in the FCC's inventory into the hands of new wireless carriers to promote competition among broadband Internet providers. "Rather than leaving it to the Department of Justice to address market failures after the fact, we believe the FCC should readily use its ample authority to promote new entry and increased competition in the broadband market," they wrote. Specifically, the lawmakers ask the FCC to put some of three spectrum bands already in the FCC's inventory into use by consumers. The three spectrum bands were identified in a meeting last week at the FCC where Blair Levin, head of the agency's national broadband planning process, revealed potential ways to get high-speed Internet to more U.S. homes. Senators asked Genachowski to explain what it plans to do with those spectrum bands.