Skyrocketing Wireless Demand Spurs Plea for More U.S. Spectrum

Companies are pressing the government to maintain a steady supply of spectrum to meet the booming U.S. demand for wireless technology.

Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration need to release new spectrum bands, industry groups plan to tell a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee Wednesday. Representatives from Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., among others, will testify.

The U.S.'s finite spectrum supply, used for radio, satellite, and wireless internet services, is increasingly crowded. Cellphone use in the U.S. has more than tripled since 2016, topping 42 trillion megabytes in 2020, according to ...