Live from CTIA: FCC Chairman talks 4G, net neutrality

SAN DIEGO--FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski continued to champion an open mobile Internet but also laid out plans to address some impediments to the rollout of 4G networks during his keynote address on Wednesday at the CTIA IT & Entertainment show.

The chairman said he recognized mobile broadband will be the growth engine of the industry, and the economy for that matter, and laid out a four-point plan to ensure the move to 4G goes smoothly. He also noted that the commission has not made any decisions regarding handset exclusivity deals and recognized the wireless networks are inherently different than wired networks when it comes to the net neutrality debate. Namely, capacity is a problem given the fact that spectrum is a finite resource. He invited carriers to "roll up their sleeves" with the FCC and work out a solution.

"We need this industry to continue driving economic growth and job creation," Genachowski said. "We also need to remain in global leadership. Increasingly, we need to rely on world class mobile networks."

Specifically, the FCC aims to release new spectrum for 4G and beyond as usage continues to skyrocket. "Spectrum is the oxygen of our mobile networks," he said. "While it's adequate now, the long-term picture is very different...The biggest threat to mobile is the looming spectrum crisis." CTIA made the same point in a letter to the FCC last week. While operators are building LTE in the 700 MHz band, that amount of spectrum won't be enough, as experts predict an onslaught of data traffic, he said.

Part of that plan is reallocating spectrum and promoting more efficient use of spectrum, Genachowski said. "We are going to look at secondary markets and spectrum flexibility policies," he said. "We see benefits of unlicensed spectrum. About 40 percent of traffic in the home can be offloaded onto unlicensed spectrum. Femtocells offer promise as well and we need to incent innovation in these areas."

The second part of the plan involves removing obstacles to robust and ubiquitous 4G networks by cutting through the red tape, the chairman said. Tower siting restrictions in local jurisdictions are one of the large hurdles to rolling out networks quickly. "We heard your call," Genachowski said. "This issue is ripe for action. We are going to move forward with a shot-clock proposal to speed the process while working with local authorities." His comment drew applause from the audience.

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