Spectrum-Sharing Plan Approved by FCC

The Federal Communications Commission has given T-Mobile USA the green light to begin testing a plan to share spectrum with federal users in a swath of spectrum coveted by the wireless industry.

The pilot program will test the impact of sharing spectrum in the 1755-1780 megahertz band to see how commercial use of those airwaves impacts federal agencies currently using that band. The wireless industry has been pushing the federal government to try to free up the band for exclusive use by commercial providers. However, the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration has said that moving federal users from this band would take years and cost billions.

"Today, we take an important step forward in our effort to enable greater government-commercial spectrum sharing, a new tool that joins clearing and reallocation as part of an 'all-of-the-above' strategy to address our nation's spectrum challenges," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. "By granting the first authorization of testing in the 1755-1780 MHz band, the commission hopes to facilitate commercial mobile broadband services in that band, which would significantly benefit millions of U.S. wireless consumers and help drive the mobile innovation economy."