A federal wireless policy built on carrots, not sticks

[Commentary] Our challenge is to use what spectrum we have more efficiently. The single most effective thing we can do to meet the escalating demand for commercial spectrum is rethink the way the federal government uses spectrum.

We need a policy built on carrots, not sticks. We need to develop a series of incentives to serve as the catalyst for freeing more federal spectrum for commercial use. Across the board, we need to find ways to reward federal authorities for efficient use of their spectrum. They could be straightforward and financial -- under which a certain portion of the revenue from the commercial auction of their previously held spectrum would be reserved for the federal entity releasing the spectrum. They could also involve revenue from leasing for shared access during a period of transition to cleared rights. As part of this effort, we also should develop a valuation of all spectrum used by federal authorities, in order to provide a consistent way to reward efficiency. In short, we will create more commercial wireless opportunity and make smarter use of a scarce resource if federal authorities see benefit in commercial reallocation -- and not just loss.