Cable Technology Feature Article
March 10, 2010
Telecom Giants Cling Tightly to Spectrum
By Marisa Torrieri, TMCnet Editor
As the FCC’s (News - Alert) Broadband Stimulus donations are getting doled out, so are spectrum usage issues.
The FCC's plan is to ask for unused spectrum from telecommunications companies to be home to the new project, according to reports. The problem that has arisen is that many have refused to participate in the initiative – even those who agree with FCC Chairman Genachowski’s statement that a “digital divide” is an “opportunity divide.”
The current debate is whether federal intervention will fix the problem.
In related news, companies recently started to question tax issues as they relate to the broadband stimulus program.
Getting clarification on the tax question “is a critically important issue with significant implications for jobs, economic recovery, and the rollout of broadband infrastructures,” wrote Rob Thormeyer, director of communications for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, in a March 4 letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner.
Marisa Torrieri is a TMCnet Web editor, covering IP hardware and mobility, including IP phones, smartphones, fixed-mobile convergence and satellite technology. She also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet's gadgets and satellite e-Newsletters. To read more of Marisa's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Marisa Torrieri
