Spectrum Debate Hits CES

The debate over whether the federal government should reclaim part, or all, of broadcasters' spectrum and reallocate it for wireless broadband applications continued at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Thursday (Jan. 7), as representatives of broadcasters, telcos, policy groups and Wall Street argued over how the spectrum can most efficiently be used.

During the panel discussion "The Spectrum Grab and Innovation," moderated by Washington Post technology columnist Rob Pegoraro, Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) President David Donovan staunchly defended broadcasters' use of the spectrum to provide free over-the-air television and new mobile DTV services against assertions by Qualcomm and AT&T executives that parts of the broadcast spectrum would be put to better use for mobile broadband. "One of the clear focuses of this convention is the use of broadcast spectrum for mobile DTV purposes," said Donovan, who added that mobile DTV should be considered as part of the country's overall broadband plan that is currently being formulated by the Federal Communications Commission. He noted that the most bandwidth-intensive application being cited for wireless broadband is the delivery of wireless video, and that broadcaster's point-to-multipoint system with mobile DTV would be the most efficient way to deliver video, particularly live video. "This spectrum is being used extremely efficiently, and the new services out there now are consistent with that," said Donovan.