White House: No Position on D Block

Phil Weiser, a senior White House aide for technology and innovation, said that the Obama Administration has not taken a position on whether a valuable and controversial band of airwaves, known as the D block, should be auctioned for commercial use or handed over to public safety officials.

The administration favors an "integrated" approach to the challenge of creating an interoperable public safety communications network, Weiser said. The FCC, members of Congress, industry, and first responders are divided about what should happen to the D block of spectrum. Weiser said it's unclear whether the nation's ability to meet spectrum demand is hindered more by red tape or actual scarcity. Part of the issue, Weiser noted, is that nobody knows how technology will evolve.

Adele Morris, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that government control of spectrum has created "a mismatch between supply and demand."