A pair of lawmakers are aiming to broaden U.S. residents' Wi-Fi horizons. Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Marco Rubio of Florida have launched a bipartisan campaign to give the general public access to more of the Wi-Fi spectrum.
In a new piece of legislation jointly introduced by Booker and Rubio, they propose allowing citizens to use a part of the Wi-Fi band currently used exclusively for intelligent transportation systems, satellite services, and amateur radio. They argue the upper 5-GHz band should be shared with unlicensed Wi-Fi usage.
The senators' Wi-Fi Innovation Act, spearheaded by Rubio, a Republican, would force the Federal Communications Commission to test this sharing idea to see if it's feasible. Rather than ignore the needs of the band's current users, which focus on things like vehicle safety and traffic information, the bill suggests that sharing the 5850-5925 MHz band with low-income communities could be a reasonable solution to the growing needs of Wi-Fi users. It's one of three bills Rubio is introducing to address Wi-Fi issues.
"There is a clear and growing demand for increased availability of spectrum," said Booker, a Democrat. "We want to see this valuable resource made available for further use by the public. Not only does access to wireless broadband open the door for innovation and transformative new technologies, it helps bridge the digital divide that leaves too many low-income communities removed from the evolving technology landscape and the growing economic opportunities."
In addition to testing the possibility of this kind of use, the bill would also study the obstacles standing in the way of Wi-Fi deployment to low-income areas. Incentives for increasing said Wi-Fi deployment would also be considered.
The bill already has the support of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, and the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. It also has its share of detractors, including automakers who fear that sharing bandwidth will be detrimental to increasingly popular services like car-to-car communications and crash-avoidance systems.
Rubio's two additional bills are the Wireless Innovation Act and an unannounced bill that promotes wireless infrastructure. The Wireless Innovation Act introduces legislation that would free up government parts of the Wi-Fi spectrum.
"In a century defined by drastic and colossal technological advancement, it is hard going even a day without using our cell phones, tablets and other wireless devices," said Rubio. "Access to mobile broadband enhances our daily lives, facilitating quality work and timely communication. But our wireless devices rely on spectrum, a valuable and limited resource. To meet the demands of our time, action must be taken to ensure spectrum is utilized effectively and efficiently."
