Grad Student.
(Click on picture for link to full size image)
The allocation of the U.S. Radio Frequency Spectrum
3 kHz - 300 GHz
(3,000 Hz - 300,000,000,000 Hz)
I’m posting this in regards to the CNNMoney article on The Spectrum Crunch which was published today. In reading the comments, people are arguing that wireless providers are just using this as an excuse to raise prices. However, looking at the chart above, the companies have a valid worry.
Can we go above 300 GHz? There is a little wiggle room above that frequency, but we quickly get into the realm of infrared light. Moving into that spectrum would create problems with weather satellites, defense satellites, and your TV remote.
Can we go below 3 kHz? Absolutely not. See the big block of space on beginning of the chart that says “NOT ALLOCATED”? That is the frequency spectrum of human hearing, which goes clear up to 20 kHz. Hence why there are no allocations for radio signals in this range…we would be able to perceive them.
When TV went completely digital in 2008, the FCC held a wireless spectrum auction. Companies like Verizon, AT&T, and Google were all in the mix. Verizon and AT&T wanted it for their cell phone use, Google wanted it for open access. In the end, the spectrum (cut up in 5 blocks) sold for $19.592 billion, with Verizon and AT&T accounting for $16 billion of it. Google backed out of the auction.
It is basically a gold rush for control of airwaves in order to provide a service that most of the population uses, and like any natural resource, the spectrum is finite. As of now, there is no solution, and one can expect wireless service to slow and be intermittent as time moves forward.
As for me, I will wait a few more years, then start buying stock in companies that still own land lines. I’m guessing that hard wired phones will come back like vinyl or neon tube socks.
