Sorry, America: Your wireless airwaves are full

[Javaman]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/21/technology/spectrum_crunch/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. mobile phone industry is running out of the airwaves necessary to provide voice, text and Internet services to its customers.

The problem, known as the "spectrum crunch," threatens to increase the number of dropped calls, slow down data speeds and raise customers' prices. It will also whittle down the nation's number of wireless carriers and create a deeper financial divide between those companies that have capacity and those that don't.

Wireless spectrum -- the invisible infrastructure over which all wireless transmissions travel -- is a finite resource. When, exactly, we'll hit the wall is the subject of intense debate, but almost everyone in the industry agrees that a crunch is coming.

The U.S. still has a slight spectrum surplus. But at the current growth rate, the surplus turns into a deficit as early as next year, according to the Federal Communications Commission's estimates.

more at link...

[Jkid]

1. Well there is one way to reduce the crunch.

Get rid of 2G services. But it will raise the cost of use to those using 2G services.

[lunatica]

3. It's an excuse to raise rates

I suspect it's mumbo jumbo to scare the natives back into submission.

[TexasProgresive]

4. I understand your cynicism

but it is being wasted on this issue. There is only so much bandwidth for radio transmission- the cell providers got a boon with the DTV conversions and are thirsting to eliminate broadcast TV so they can suck up all of that bandwidth. It is not like fiber optic transmission which can be expanded at will if one is willing to pay for it.