Radio Spectrum Inventory Act Scheduled For April 14 Vote

The Radio Spectrum Inventory Act (HR 3125) has been
scheduled for a vote Apr. 14 in the House.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has put the bill
on the suspension calendar, according to a notice from his office. That
calendar is for votes on noncontroversial bills and allows for limited debate
(the inventory act has a bunch of both Democratic and Republican supporters).

The bill, which was approvedby a voice vote in the House Energy & Commerce Committee March 10,
directs the FCC and the National Telecommunications & Information
Administration to figure out how and where private stakeholders are using their
spectrum.

It also mandates the creation of a centralized Web
portal/website for public access to the data.

The commission is looking to start the process of reclaiming
spectrum from broadcasters and others this year as part of an aggressive
rollout schedule for the national broadband plan.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), chairman of the Communications
& Internet Subcommittee and a co-sponsor of the bill, has said that a
thorough inventory is necessary before the FCC can determine where and from
whom it needs the spectrum, which it plans to auction for wired broadband use.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.