[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1560-E1561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE SPECTRUM RELOCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2009

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to announce the introduction 
of the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 2009 along with my 
colleagues, Mr. Upton of Michigan and Mr. Boucher of Virginia. This 
bipartisan bill reforms the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA) 
to make the current spectrum relocation process more transparent and 
reduce relocation risks for federal agencies and those interested in 
bidding in future auctions of federally encumbered spectrum.
  Washington State is a leader in the technology industry. It is home 
to companies large and small that are producing the most cutting edge 
Internet service technologies that benefit not only my constituents in 
the first District, but Washington State and the country as a whole. 
However despite the innovative efforts going on in Washington, and 
across the country, the United States ranks 15th in broadband adoption 
of 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 
countries; a ranking that President Obama has called ``unacceptable.''
  Investment in broadband infrastructure and services is a necessary 
economic driver, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
allocated $7.4 billion dollars to aid the build out of our nation's 
broadband infrastructure over current spectrum, to unserved and 
underserved communities. This investment demonstrates the importance of 
broadband services, not only for America's economic recovery, but its 
ongoing prosperity.
  Meeting the broadband infrastructure objectives desired by the 
American people and outlined by President Obama will require the 
allocation of additional spectrum for commercial use. In order for 
consumers to experience the next generation of voice and broadband 
wireless services, the government must identify more sources of 
spectrum. Once the government has auctioned spectrum to carriers, it is 
in everyone's interest to see that consumers

[[Page E1561]]

benefit from new services as quickly as possible.
  In 2006, the Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Wireless 
Services (AWS) spectrum auction demonstrated that spectrum auctions can 
finance (1) all the Federal costs associated with clearing spectrum for 
commercial use, (2) enhance critical Federal communications 
capabilities and 3) raise revenue for the Treasury. The AWS auction 
raised $13.7 billion from wireless companies. That figure included 
roughly $1 billion to relocate federal communications systems for 12 
federal agencies that had been operating in those spectrum bands. 
Originally, the agencies were slated to clear out of the affected 
spectrum by March 2010.
  While relocation practices and procedures worked well for 10 of the 
12 agencies involved, unforeseen problems affecting some agencies took 
more than a year to resolve and threatened to undermine the spectrum 
relocation process that the House Energy & Commerce Committee, the 
Department of Commerce, and the Office of Management and Budget worked 
for several years to implement. This bill is designed to improve the 
relocation process for all parties involved and address the problems 
that surfaced during the AWS relocation process.
  Fundamentally, the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act (1) increases 
the amount and quality of information available to potential bidders 
before an auction occurs, and (2) expedites the flow of auction 
proceeds to the relocating agencies to keep the relocation process on 
track. I am convinced that more complete information about the affected 
federal agencies' systems, their relocation cost estimates, and 
schedules reduces risks for potential bidders and ensures that 
commercial users' bids in future spectrum auctions more fully reflect 
the market value of the spectrum at auction.
  In my home State of Washington we are already seeing the consumer and 
economic benefits of the AWS auction. T-Mobile, headquartered in 
Bellevue, WA, has rolled out 3G broadband service in Seattle, with 560 
3G base stations, and by year's end will have built out over 900 3G 
base stations. This investment is adding to the local economy and job 
market, while providing services to customers. The company expects to 
deliver services to an additional 2,721,987 customers by year's end.
  But this issue is not only about large companies like T-Mobile, it is 
about small and regional carriers that provide innovative and 
affordable services to consumers and often face challenges, relative to 
the larger carriers, in raising capital in order to bid on FCC 
licenses.
  One successful AWS bidder--Cricket--has been in Washington State for 
eight years and serves a constituency often not reached by the larger 
carriers. Cricket provides flat-rate unlimited voice and broadband 
service to consumers without a long-term contract or early termination 
fee. Nearly half of Cricket's wireless broadband subscribers had never 
before subscribed to Internet service--not even dial-up.
  This legislation will help ensure that customers, like Cricket's, 
will get to take advantage of not only the first generation of 
broadband services, but those still to come; and will provide the 
necessary structure to make sure that the next spectrum auction is 
successful for consumers, industry, and government.
  I am pleased to introduce this legislation along with my colleague 
Mr. Upton who played a major role in drafting the Commercial Spectrum 
Enhancement Act, and with the distinguished Chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Mr. 
Boucher.

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