SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Cell phones, i-Pads, and other gadgets are taking up a lot of our available air waves and soon we could run out of space.
The wireless spectrum is a finite resource, like water, and if cell phone companies can't find new sources of it, then customers will be looking at higher prices, and more dropped calls.
The Federal Communications Commission estimates a deficit in the wireless spectrum as early as next year. The current rate of growth in the popularity of email, apps, and the use of video on mobile devices, is behind the brewing crisis.
Jason Olson is a spokesperson for AT&T. He says it’s a problem all providers can’t afford to ignore. “We are running up against the limits of what the spectrum can carry and we need to address this issue it's probably the most important issue for the wireless industry at this moment."
The issue is fueled by the consumers’ love of data. AT&T alone reports wireless data traffic on its network has grown 20,000 percent since the i-Phone debuted in 2007 and Olson says the smarter the device, the more spectrum it uses up. "i-Phones use about thirty times more spectrum than the average phone does"
Olson says they are also the most popular sellers. He says 50 percent of the phones on AT&T coverage are now smart phones.
Experts say the technology explosion, and demand for it, were something no one anticipated, and a problem with no easy solution.
Most of the spectrum is currently allocated to the government and broadcast television stations. Congress just approved a plan that would allow the auction of unused spectrum licenses. That may offer a temporary fix but may also come at a cost that is passed on to wireless users.
