The United States is currently facing a budget deficit of around $1.7 trillion, and President Obama and his administration have decided to rectify the situation through a host of measures, including an additional spectrum license fee to be charged from mobile broadband service providers.
Earlier, when the US Stimulus Bill was passed, the mobile industry had received a grant of a whopping $7.2 billion, so that broadband services could be made available even in the rural areas. This move has direct benefits for the broadband providers as their infrastructure expansion will be funded by the federal government. However, after the announcement of the spectrum fee, a strong opposition is expected from the influential mobile industry in the US, as they would see this move as the government paying through one channel and charging through the other. The fee is in addition to the licence charge that mobile operators had paid earlier at the time of spectrum auction.
As spectrum available for auction is scarce now in the US, the government seems to have no other option, and the only constant flow of income that the government can expect from the use of spectrum is the new fee. It is expected that the proposed plan could play a significant role in reducing the wide gap between the government’s expenditure and earning.
In spring, the government’s complete budget plan will be released, and more details of this proposal are expected to come along with it, but before implementation, a good deal of resistance can be expected from the mobile industry against the new move.
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