Broadband - $75 billion in new Capital Spending

The President projects that the Federal government can raise $27.8 billion over the next decade by auctioning off wireless spectrum, something wireless carriers eagerly want the government to do. Under Obama's plan, $10 billion of this money will pay for an expansion of the Public Safety Broadband Network and to build out wireless broadband to cover 98% of the nation.

"Recent data shows that making additional spectrum available for wireless will lead to 500,000 new jobs in America," said Jonathan Spalter, chairman of the non-profit wireless industry think tank Mobile Future, in a written statement.

A report that Mobile Future released in August spelled it out: "Building on previous studies, we estimate that the reassignment of 300 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband within five years will spur $75 billion in new capital spending, creating more than 300,000 jobs and $230 billion in additional Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The release of an additional 200 MHz of new spectrum after five years will create an additional 200,000 jobs and increase GDP by an additional $155 billion."

Plus the study said the economy would benefit from a "spillover" effect. Companies like Apple, Google, Qualcomm and small application developers would boom as they created new mobile broadband applications to be carried upon all that ubiquitous bandwidth. Here's wishing wireless and jobs for all.

Shirley Ripullone