Senate to kick off broadband review

July 29 marks the start of a series of hearings on wireless broadband by the Senate Commerce Committee.

The biggest-name on the witness list is Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The rest of the panel is comprised of experts and CTIA chief Meredith Attwell Baker. The committee said that the witnesses will be asked to discuss "how federal spectrum policy may need to change to meet national challenges and what role Congress should play in establishing a successful spectrum strategy over the next few decades." In her testimony, Commissioner Rosenworcel will call for the incentive auction model to be explored for the spectrum held by the federal government: "The future of spectrum policy requires incentives," she will say. "We need a federal spectrum policy that is based on carrots, not sticks. If we want a robust and reliable spectrum pipeline, we need to make sure that federal authorities see gain--and not just loss--when their airwaves are reallocated for new mobile broadband use." Baker, a former FCC commissioner herself, will pledge industry's efforts to accommodate increased data usage by consumers, but will say lawmakers and industry must address a possible shortage of spectrum together.