Last week in Washington D.C., legislation was introduced that could prove to have a huge impact on the wireless industry. On Monday, February 10th, Senators Mark Rudio (R-FL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Wi-Fi Innovation Act to the U.S. Senate, which would free up more broadband spectrum and increase Wi-Fi access across the country.
Sen. Rubio, along with Sen. Booker, said: “The Wi-Fi Innovation Act would bolster innovation, spur economic development, and increase connectivity by providing more spectrum to the public.” The House version of the bill was introduced by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Bob Latta (R-OH).
Trade groups representing the cable, broadcast, and wireless industries all came out with support for the bill.
Click <a href=”http://thehill.com/policy/technology/overnights/232377-overnight-tech-congress-signals-for-better-wi-fi”>here</a> to read the story, as reported in <i>The Hill</i>.
Following reports of the newly proposed legislation, former FCC Chairman and current PCIA President & CEO Jonathan Adelstein made a televised appearance on the C-SPAN news show The Communicators. The PCIA –The Wireless Infrastructure Association organization is one of the most powerful trade associations in the wireless telecommunications infrastructure industry.
On the show, Mr. Adelstein spoke about the future of building wireless networks, broadband deployment, and the need for new spectrum legislation (like the legislation proposed by Sens. Booker and Rubio). He also made a case for increased investments in wireless infrastructure, pointing out that companies in PCIA-member industries will be making annual investments of $35 billion/year for the next five years, in the United States, in wireless infrastructure.
Adelstein went on to say that independent economists expect these five-year investments to add $1.3 trillion to the domestic GDP of the United States and 1.3 million jobs to the U.S. economy. Ultimately, this depends on policymakers allowing the industry to make these investments, which is why the Wi-Fi Innovation Act could have a huge impact.