The Internet of Things and the Importance of Unlicensed Spectrum

[Commentary] On July 29, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on “Wireless Broadband and the Future of Spectrum Policy,” where Ranking Member Bill Nelson observed, “[t]oday, there are more wireless devices in this country than there are people.” Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hill, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was holding a hearing at the exact same time on the Internet of Things, discussing the impact of electronic devices on public policy. Both hearings made it clear that the need for more unlicensed spectrum is immediate, because billions of devices depend on it. The Senate hearing participants discussed unlicensed spectrum, but the discussion of how to profit from and relicense spectrum dominated the conversation.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was one of the witnesses at the hearing and championed changes in unlicensed policies in her testimony, saying that we need “[n]ot just more licensed spectrum - but also more unlicensed spectrum. In short, we need more Wi-Fi.” Commissioner Rosenworcel was particularly on-point for unlicensed spectrum. She pointed out that historically, legislative processes have overlooked the value of unlicensed spectrum – a history that repeated itself that day. Relicensing spectrum from agencies, creating incentives for spectrum holders to relinquish their spectrum, and identifying additional bands all dominated the Senate Committee’s policy discussion at the hearing. Unlicensed spectrum took the back seat. The two committees had disconnected visions of the role of unlicensed spectrum in the future, but there is no reason for that disconnect to continue. More unlicensed spectrum must be opened up to support the devices that demand it. The Internet of Things is growing and consumers expect connectivity at a low price. In these conversations about the “future of spectrum,” it is in everyone’s interest for Congress to come together and prioritize unlicensed spectrum, so that innovation and the growth of modern technologies can continue.