Averting a mobile meltdown requires unlocking more spectrum

By Diane Smith

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It's not an understatement to say that there's a revolution going on in America and it's changing almost everything we do: communication, education, health care, entertainment and how we interact.

As wireless broadband usage explodes, however, there is an urgent need for more of the nation's airwaves to be made available to keep pace with consumer demand.

I am an entrepreneur, investor, lawyer, board member, mom and wife - and every one of these activities is easier and, in some instances, simply doable as a rural resident, because of this revolution. I know because I've lived the wireless dream.

I founded an Internet television business in rural Montana. Our “office” was a local coffee house with a high-speed wireless connection that allowed us to communicate, grow and compete. Within three years, we had raised $30 million and were employing 50 people.

The wireless ecosystem is clearly an economic driver. In Iowa alone, the technology industry employs more than 76,000 people and accounts for $10.6 billion of the state's roughly $140 billion annual GDP. Thanks to mobile innovation, agricultural entrepreneurs have new tools to manage their businesses and gain competitive advantage. A smartphone with GPS capabilities can help farmers cut down on seed and fertilizer costs. Wireless sensors can also help save water and provide more effective pest control.

Wireless technology also is revolutionizing the way we educate our children. Devices such as e-readers, tablets and digital textbooks are equalizers that ensure a child living in rural Iowa has the same access to educational resources as a child living in Silicon Valley.

Consumer demand for wireless is growing at a dizzying pace. Hyper-connected smartphones have increased mobile Internet usage 24-fold. Mobile data traffic has long surpassed wireless voice traffic, and it is expected to grow at 100 times the rate of wireless phone calls over the next 10 years. Add in video-friendly tablet devices such as the iPad, which typically generate five times the data traffic of smartphones, and we face a spectrum capacity crunch.

The most important ingredient for powering our wireless ecosystem - spectrum - is being consumed at an unsustainable rate. Spectrum is a finite resource and needs to be brought to the market quickly to protect the future of mobile innovation and avoid a severe setback for the economy.

President Obama was right to focus on connecting virtually all Americans to the wireless web within five years. It's a goal that will take not only the vision of private sector innovators, but the commitment and support of federal policymakers.

Unlock more spectrum for the wireless web and with it comes the next wave of innovation.

Diane Smith is on the board of Mobile Future (www.mobilefuture.org), a coalition of technology and communications companies, consumers and non-profit organizations that advocates investment and innovation in the wireless sector. Comments: info@mobile

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