[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 53 (Thursday, April 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RADIO SPECTRUM INVENTORY ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 14, 2010

  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, when I plugged in a Wi-Fi router in my home 
just outside of Pittsburgh, I noticed almost a dozen other Wi-Fi 
networks in the same neighborhood. My neighbors created their own 
personal hotspots over the same airwaves to enjoy fast wireless data 
connectivity for the technology in and around their home. The paradox 
of technology is that the more we experience new devices, new services, 
and new features, the more we depend on them to run our lives. Each of 
us who rely on our wireless devices get frustrated when the network is 
too congested to let us send an e-mail or browse a web page when we 
want to. The answer is more spectrum--the wireless airwaves that the 
people own and that Congress has tasked the Federal Communications 
Commission to manage. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has noted, the 
United States faces a ``looming spectrum crisis'' particularly in 
larger cities like Pittsburgh.
  That's not hyperbole; it's reality. The demand for spectrum for 
mobile Internet access is growing more rapidly--much more rapidly--than 
the supply of spectrum is. The ability to access the Internet at high-
speed on the go creates amazing opportunities, but only if we 
proactively take the steps necessary to ensure that we have adequate 
spectrum available to meet consumers' and business' needs.
  New technologies are coming down the pike that can provide 
exponentially faster speeds to more consumers based on the amounts of 
spectrum that carriers can use.
  And that's exactly why the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act, which I am 
pleased to be a cosponsor of, is so timely. By taking a comprehensive 
look at the way spectrum bands are currently being utilized, we can 
make informed judgments about adjustments that need to be made to 
accommodate future demands. This is the right course. This is a good 
bill. I urge my colleagues to support it.

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