Order Code RS20993
Updated April 2, 2007
Wireless Technology and Spectrum Demand:
Advanced Wireless Services
Linda K. Moore
Analyst in Telecommunications and Technology Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
Advances in wireless telecommunications technology are converging with Internet
technology to foster new generations of applications and services. Presently, the United
States and other countries are moving to third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation
(4G) mobile telephony. A related trend is the growth in use of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity)
and WiMAX (an industry designation for a type of broadband standard). Wi-Fi uses
local wireless networks for high-speed (broadband) mobile access to the Internet.
WiMAX uses broadband wireless to link fixed points and also supports mobile devices.
From the perspective of spectrum management, a significant difference in the
technologies is that 3G, 4G, and WiMAX services operate on designated, licensed
frequencies, while Wi-Fi shares unlicenced spectrum with other uses. From the
perspective of spectrum policy, a key difference between licensed and unlicensed use
is that the market for services over licensed frequencies is developed by the license-
holder whereas demand for services on unlicensed frequencies is developed by the
manufacturers of the devices. As the markets for Wi-Fi and WiMAX develop, policy
issues before Congress include the competitive impact on commercial wireless carriers
when municipalities offer wireless broadband services, promoting the development of
broadband wireless access, and assuring the availability of appropriate spectrum. One
proposal being suggested to the Federal Communications Commission and members of
Congress is a national, wireless, broadband data service that would be built by M2Z.
Legislation includes S. 234 (Senator Kerry) and its companion bill H.R. 1597
(Representative Inslee), providing terms for the release of spectrum for unlicensed use
in “white space”; S. 337 (Senator Sununu), providing terms for the release of spectrum
for unlicensed or licensed use and addressing authority over the use of the spectrum in
white space; and H.R.1320 (Representative Rush) prohibiting unlicensed devices of any
kind in white space in rural areas until after February 17, 2009 and mobile devices until
at least three years later. S. 291 (Senator Smith) and S. 315 (Senator Warner) are almost
identical bills to strengthen the national digital and wireless infrastructure by supporting
investment by certain minority-serving institutions; H.R. 694 (Representative Towns),
would also establish these technology programs at minority-serving institutions.

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Wireless Technology: Development and Demand
In order to deploy advanced wireless technologies, telecommunications carriers,
broadcasters, cable companies, content providers and others are seeking effective
strategies to move to new standards, upgrade infrastructure, and develop new services and
content. This migration path includes decisions about acquiring and using spectrum.
Spectrum is managed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for commercial
and other non-federal uses and by the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) for federal government use. International use is facilitated by
numerous bilateral and multilateral agreements covering many aspects of usage, including
mobile telephony.1 Spectrum is segmented into bands of radio frequencies and typically
measured in cycles per second, or hertz.2
Commercial wireless communications typically rely on bandwidth below 3 GHz
because of limitations in current technology. American competitiveness in advanced
wireless technology may be constrained by the limited amount of exploitable bandwidth
that is available. This constraint is both specific, in the inherent finiteness of useful
spectrum, and relative, in comparison to the amount of spectrum available for commercial
use in other countries. Although developments in technology increase the efficiency of
spectrum and expand its usable range, there is persistent demand for spectrum to carry
new services as other technologies reach the market. New developments in wireless
technology support many services for business and consumer markets, such as enhanced
Internet links, digital television and radio broadcast reception, high-quality streaming
video, and mobile commerce (m-commerce) — including the ability to make payments.
Mobile Telephony. Mobile communications became generally available to
businesses and consumers in the 1980s. This “first generation” technology, still in use,
is analog, the prevailing telecommunications technology of the time. Second generation
(2G) wireless devices are characterized by digitized delivery systems. Third generation
(3G) mobile technology represents significant advances over the analog and digital
services that characterize current cellular phone technology. A dramatic increase in
communications speed is the most important technical feature of 3G and 4G, and this
increases capacity for broadband applications that include video and mobile
(transportable) television.3 Because they can transmit at high speeds, these leading-edge
technologies support multi-function devices, such as the BlackBerry and the IPhone.
1 The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), part of the United Nations, is the primary
organization for coordinating global telecommunications and spectrum management.
2 Electromagnetic radio waves are usually identified by frequency. Standard abbreviations for
measuring frequencies include kHz — kilohertz or thousands of hertz; MHz — megahertz, or
millions of hertz; and GHz — gigahertz, or billions of hertz.
3 Broadband refers to the capacity of the radio frequency channel. A broadband channel can
transmit live video, complex graphics and other data-rich information as well as voice and text
messages whereas a narrowband channel might be limited to handling voice, text and some
graphics. For an in-depth study of wireless broadband, see Connected on the Go: Broadband
Goes Wireless,
Wireless Broadband Access Task Force, Federal Communications Commission,
February 2005 at [http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257247A1.pdf].
Viewed January 11, 2007.

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Wireless communications services have grown significantly worldwide, and
explosively in some countries. Consumer demand for wireless telephony in the United
States has soared in recent years, totaling over 230 million mobile phone subscribers in
January 2007.4 In approximately the same time frame, use of the Internet has expanded
dramatically from an arcane tool for specialized research to a popularized, user-friendly
service providing near instant access to information and entertainment. Advanced
technologies bring the wireless Internet revolution to cell phones. Business and consumer
demand for mobile services is considered by many to be an important engine for future
growth in American and global economies. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the creation of a “dotmobi” domain to join more
familiar Internet address extensions such as “.com” and “.net.” The new extension
designates Internet material that has been formatted for viewing on a mobile device.5

Wi-Fi and WiMAX. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) operate on
unlicenced spectrum, using radio frequencies in the free 2.4 GHz and 5.4/5.7GHz
spectrum bands. A group of standards for frequency use in these bands is known as the
802.11 family. The 802.11 standards are commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, for wireless
fidelity. Wi-Fi provides high-speed Internet access for personal computers and devices
such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and is also used by businesses to link
computer-based communications within a local area. Links are connected to a high-speed
wireline (landline) either at a business location or through HotSpots. HotSpots are
typically located in homes or convenient public locations, including many airports and
café environments such as Starbucks. Another standard for wireless Internet is
Bluetooth, which has a shorter range than Wi-Fi but works well in cell phones. Bluetooth
handles both voice and data; Wi-Fi is mostly data but also supports Voice over Internet
protocol (VoIP) calls, sometimes known as VoWiFi.
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) refers to both a
technology and an industry standard, the work of an industry coalition of network and
equipment suppliers6 that have agreed to develop interoperable broadband wireless based
on a common standard (IEEE 802.16) for point-to-point transmissions. WiMAX
technology can transmit data over distances of up to 30 miles and is used in the United
States as a “last mile” technology, that is, a means to provide fixed wireless service to
locations that are not connected to networks by cable or high-speed wires. Mobile
WiMAX is still in the early stages of development.7 WiMAX uses multiple frequencies
around the world in ranges from 700 MHz to 66 GHz. In the United States, frequencies
where WiMAX is being tested or used include 700 MHz, 1.9 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and
4 Statistic updated regularly at [http://www.ctia.org/].
5 “ICANN Concludes 23rd Annual Meeting with Action on Domain Name Security and Global
Addressing Policy” at [http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-18jul05.htm], dated
July 18, 2005. Viewed January 12, 2007.
6 Founding members of the WiMAX Forum include Airspan, Alvarion, Analog Devices, Aperto
Networks, Ensemble Communications, Fujitsu, Intel, Nokia, Proxim, and Wi-LAN. For
additional information, see [http://www.wimaxforum.org/].
7 A global standard for mobile WiMAX, 802.16e has been established by the IEEE 802.16
Working Group; documentation is at [http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/documents/].
Viewed January 4, 2007.

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2.7 GHz. Not later than January 28, the FCC must hold auctions of 60 MHz of spectrum
at 700 MHz.8 The technologies and services chosen for this spectrum by the winning
bidders could have a significant impact on for mobile devices in the United States.
Transportable Television. Some technologies use terrestrial links to bring
broadcast television transmissions from satellites to cell phones. Frequencies that are
being used include 1.5 GHz, 2.2 GHz and 2.5GHz. In the United States, Qualcomm and
Intel are among the companies developing 4G technologies that include TV broadcasts
to mobiles. Qualcomm provides a proprietary technology called MediaFlo that is being
incorporated into next-generation mobile services from AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
U.S. standards that would support broadcasting to mobile or handheld TV are A-VSB and
— being developed by ATSC9 — a standard based on digital TV. In Europe, handset
manufacturer Nokia supports the mobile TV standard DVB-H, which uses broadcast
spectrum.
Broadband Wireless Access to the Internet
As demand for Internet services grows, policymakers at all levels of government are
seeking ways to make access (especially broadband access) to the Internet available to all.
As wireless technologies have improved, they have become a popular option for
deploying municipal broadband, especially to disadvantaged sectors of a community.
Successive Congresses have seen the introduction of bills supporting programs to bridge
what is often called the digital divide, the inequality of access to the Internet because of
technical or economic constraints.10
Municipal Deployment of Broadband. The two main broadband technologies
that are particularly attractive to communities, in part because they support existing
community services such as Internet access for schools and communications for public
safety, are fiber-optic cable networks and wireless access — WiFi today, possibly
WiMAX in the future. The spread of wireless services such as access to the Internet and
anticipated advances in wireless technology are modifying the business case for choosing
a broadband technology. Networks that depend on a fiber-optic cable backbone are
capital-intensive and usually more profitable in high-density urban areas. A number of
rural communities have used their resources to install fiber-optic broadband services in
part because they were too small a market to interest for-profit companies. Increasingly,
communities are looking at wireless technologies to support their networks.
Several states have passed laws prohibiting or limiting local governments’ ability
to provide telecommunications services. An effort to challenge such a law in Missouri
by municipalities offering local communications services in the state was heard before the
U.S. Supreme Court in 2004.11 In the Telecommunications Act of 1996t, Congress barred
states from “prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate
8 P.L. 109-171, Sec. 3o03 (a).
9 Advanced Television Systems Committee, Inc., at [http://www.atsc.org/guide_default.html].
10 For further information, see CRS Report RL30719, Broadband Internet Access and the Digital
Divide: Federal Assistance Programs
, by Lennard G. Kruger and Angele A. Gilroy.
11 U.S. Supreme Court, Docket Number 02-1238.

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telecommunications service.”12 The Court ruled that “entity” was not specific enough to
include state political divisions; if Congress wished specifically to protect both public and
private entities, they could do so by amending the language of the law. This decision and
the steady improvement in broadband communications technologies that municipalities
wish to have available in their communities have provided fuel for a policy debate about
access to broadband services. The central debate is whether municipal broadband services
are part of essential infrastructure with many public benefits, including stimulus to the
local economy, or whether they provide unfair competition that distorts the marketplace
and discourages commercial companies from investing in broadband technologies. In
particular, the fact that urban areas are creating Wi-Fi networks and providing, among
other services, free wireless links to the Internet is viewed as a threat to commercial
companies and a form of unfair competition.
Municipalities installing free Wi-Fi zones often contend that generally available
access to the Internet through wireless connections has become an urban amenity,
arguably a necessity in sustaining and developing the local economy. Municipal Wi-Fi
also provides the opportunity to improve social services and Internet access in
disadvantaged communities that often are not served by fiber optic networks. The Federal
Trade Commissions’ Internet Access Task Force has published a report discussing many
aspects of municipal broadband implementation and related issues.13
Unlicensed Spectrum. Unlicensed spectrum is not sold to the highest bidder and
used for the services chosen by the license-holder but is instead accessible to anyone using
wireless equipment certified by the FCC for those frequencies. New technologies that can
use unlicensed spectrum without causing interference are proposed for vacant spectrum
designated to provide space between the broadcasting signals of digital television, known
as white space. On September 11, 2006, the FCC announced a timetable for allowing
access to the spectrum so that devices could be developed and ready for retail sales by
February 2009.14 One of the potential uses for white space is wireless broadband to
support access to the Internet.15
M2Z Networks. Another approach for using wireless technology to provide
broadband has been proposed by M2Z Networks. The company is petitioning the FCC
to cede 20 MHz of unpaired spectrum16 in unused spectrum at 2.155 GHz so that it can
build a national wireless network that would offer basic access to the Internet for free.17

12 47 U.S.C. 253 (a).
13 At [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/10/muniwireless.htm]. Viewed January 23, 2007.
14 FCC, First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, ET Docket No.
04-186, released October 18, 2006.
15 “Tech Firms Push to Use TV Airwaves for Internet,” by Charles Babington, The Washington
Post
, March 13, 2007.
16 Paired spectrum provides separate frequencies for transmitting and receiving. Unpaired
spectrum uses a single frequency.
17 See [http://www.m2znetworks.com/].

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Fair Access. In recent Congresses, bills have been proposed to improve access to
the Internet that have focused on overcoming technological or economic barriers that
excluded some sectors of the population. In the 109th Congress, the policy debate
expanded to include the concept of net neutrality. In general, net neutrality is the
principle of non-discriminatory access by all website providers to all Internet users, with
no artificial barriers.18 The role of wireless technologies in enhancing competition or
side-stepping regulations governing the Internet is an aspect on the net neutrality debate
that has not been fully engaged by Congress. Some observers are asking if there should
be a “wireless exception” in net neutrality laws and regulations or whether net neutrality
laws can be written that apply to wireless services. One proposal to develop network
neutrality regulations or laws for wireless networks argues that requirements for neutrality
are essential for wireless services, which are often linked to proprietary technologies.19

Bills in the 110th Congress
Bills to increase the availability of unlicensed spectrum for community broadband
are H.R. 1597, S. 234 and S. 337. The Wireless Innovation Act of 2007 ( S. 234, Senator
Kerry) would require the FCC to complete Docket 04-186 and issue a final order, among
other requirements, within 180 days of the bill becoming law. H.R. 1597 (Representative
Inslee) is a companion bill. The White Spaces Act (S. 337, Senator Sununu) would
provide terms for the release of white space spectrum for unlicensed or licensed use,
prohibit the FCC from banning the marketing of technologies that work on the white
space, and address uncertainty stemming from legal proceedings regarding authority over
the use of the spectrum, among other uses. The Interference Protection for Existing
Television Band Devices Act (H.R. 1320, Representative Rush) would prohibit the use
of unlicensed devices of any kind in white space in rural areas until after February 17,
2009 and of mobile devices until at least three years later. In particular, unlicensed
devices would not be allowed to operate on channels already in use by low-power
auxiliary television broadcast devices and the FCC would be required to seek additional
way to protect these broadcasts from interference by unlicensed devices.
Bills to improve access to digital and wireless services are S. 291, S. 315 and H.R.
694. All three bills would provide grants to strengthen the national digital and wireless
infrastructure by supporting investment in minority-serving institutions. S. 291 (Senator
Smith) and S. 315 (Senator Warner) would establish a new office within the National
Science Foundation. Similar goals for technology programs appear in H.R. 694
(Representative Towns), but would be achieved by adding a program to existing
technology programs at the Department of Commerce (15 U.S.C. 3704).
18 A discussion of net neutrality and issues facing the 110th Congress is provided in CRS Report
RS22444, Net Neutrality: Background and Issues, by Angele A. Gilroy.
19 Wireless Net Neutrality: Cellular Carterfone on Mobile Neyworks, by Tim Wu, February 2007.
At [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962027]. Viewed February 27, 2007.