The introduction of the iPhone less than a decade ago spurred an astounding wave of innovation in mobile devices. It also spurred a desperate quest to find wireless bandwidth to satisfy exponential increases in bandwidth consumption. Government agencies first worked to clear spectrum bands for commercial use. At the same time technologists, industry players and government agencies started to recognize technologies allowing for the sharing of spectrum bands and unlicensed use schemes could massively complement existing programs. It’s a really exciting time where more and more players are entering the wireless data market and providing new services. Cisco now estimates that almost ½ of global data is offloaded to femtocell networks and that number is increasing. The federal government is exploring sharing mechanisms to make some government allocated spectrum "shareable" for all wireless users — government and commercial users alike. Our panel will discuss what these developments mean for consumers, businesses and government agencies in the coming months and years. They will discuss the dynamic developments that are happening in the marketplace and how opportunities for sharing are increasing.
