As the goals and priorities of this new Congress and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) become more apparent, policymakers would be wise to prominently feature voters’ call for public policies that promote innovation, deregulation, affordability, and economic growth.
A key component to promote innovation, affordability, and economic growth in a deregulatory environment will be more unlicensed spectrum – the radio frequencies anyone can use and that are used for the Wi-Fi we all use every day at home, work, and school.
Wi-Fi technology is a key driver of growth and progress, projected to contribute an astonishing $1.6 trillion to the American economy in 2024. And it’s expected to increase to $2.4 trillion in 2027.
Make no mistake: Wi-Fi is much more than an add-on to wired technology. It plays a crucial role in all connectivity technologies, including mobile cellular service, which relies on offloading data from cellular networks onto Wi-Fi to free up capacity. According to a study, Wi-Fi carries between 82 percent and 89 percent of all mobile data traffic.
Policymakers must understand that both at home and away, when Americans browse on our smartphones, their constituents are spending most of that time connected to Wi-Fi. Even away from home, smartphone users spend 77-88 percent of their screen-on time connected to Wi-Fi.
Another recent report estimates that consumer devices relying on the 6 GHz spectrum band allocated for unlicensed use will rise from 95 million this year to an estimated 367 million in 2029—a 288 percent increase. To support this growth and the coming advances in Wi-Fi technology, the report recommends policymakers look at freeing up additional unlicensed spectrum in the adjacent 7 GHz band as the best option to maintain U.S. leadership in Wi-Fi. Other experts echo this recommendation to make additional unlicensed spectrum available to meet future demand.
We often hear about winning the race to 5G with countries like China, but in the U.S., Wi-Fi networks carry the majority of Americans’ data usage, handling the bulk of everyday mobile data traffic. Turns out that China fears Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi, powered by decentralized, American intellectual property is viewed by China as a threat to their centralized model—emphasizing its critical value to U.S. innovation. Wi-Fi is one of our competitive advantages against totalitarian countries and is why policymakers need to make more unlicensed spectrum available.
Without smart policies that ensure the Wi-Fi of tomorrow has the capacity it needs, there will be more bottlenecks that stifle innovation and slow down our increasingly connected world. And that means more of what the voters emphatically told their elected representatives that they don’t want: higher prices, economic slowdowns, and government getting in the way of innovators and entrepreneurs building businesses and generating jobs.
The point is to keep a good thing going. With more unlicensed spectrum we can continue to unleash Wi-Fi’s potential, leveraging three of its key attributes:
Accessibility: Because no licenses are required, anyone from tech giants to basement innovators can develop Wi-Fi technologies. This open access has spurred a tidal wave of innovation, making advanced tech more accessible for all of us – an inherently American model. Again, to the detriment of China.
Affordability: No licensing fees mean companies can offer Wi-Fi services and devices at lower costs, reducing costs for everyone to get online. This has been crucial in democratizing internet access, providing countless educational and economic opportunities for millions. Not to mention the millions of dollars saved on 5G networks (and passed on to consumers) that are able to offload the majority of their traffic onto unlicensed spectrum.
Flexibility: As our technological needs evolve, unlicensed spectrum can be quickly adapted. For example, the introduction of Wi-Fi 6E has opened new channels in the 6 GHz band, delivering faster and more reliable connections for consumer devices.
That’s how small businesses like cozy cafés can offer free Wi-Fi to customers, making them hot spots (pun intended) for workers, students, and everyday internet users.
Moreover, unlicensed spectrum fuels “smart homes.” From managing security systems to controlling home temperatures to monitoring health needs, it’s the invisible lifeline that allows all our gadgets to talk to each other smoothly, making life a lot more convenient.
The possibilities are limitless. But policymakers need to provide Wi-Fi users and providers with the spectrum they need to continue meeting fast-growing consumer demands. Unfortunately, as Congress debates reconciliation, spectrum policy often gets reduced to a piggy bank rather than a tool to unleash more innovation and economic growth. While the priorities Congress is seeking to fund are valuable, only looking at dollar signs ignores this important part of the 5G and broadband marketplace that Americans overwhelmingly rely on every day.
This article was originally published by DC Journal and you can find the full article here.
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