FCC had made it clear before the release of its National Broadband Plan that it wants to broker a huge transfer of licensed spectrum away from the television broadcasting sector toward the broadband industry.

500MHz of bandwidth in the TV bands was considered necessary by the FCC Chair Julius Genachowski. NBP necessitates freeing up 300MHz starting just below the UHF zone (300MHz to 3GHz) to be made, which will be available for mobile use within five years. For mobile broadband use, the plan wants to open up 20MHz of licensed space in the less-known 2.3GHz Wireless Communications Service band.

The first test of the new approach will come in that incomprehensible little WCS zone where its fate will be watched by AT&T Comcast, Sirius XM satellite radio, Comcast and the entire auto industry.

The agency is looking for a much more fluid system of spectrum management through its National Broadband Plan that allows both Government as well as industry to reassess the uses of any band at a quicker pace.

The FCC said, “In the case of commercial spectrum, the failure to revisit historical allocations can leave spectrum handcuffed to particular use cases and outmoded services”.