Nobody actually knows who uses what spectrum in the United States.

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has just approved a bill that directs the NTIA and Federal Communications Commission to inventory and catalog spectrum use between 300 MHz and 3.5 GHz.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), now goes on to consideration by the full Senate, and a similar bill would also have to be considered in the House of Representatives before being enacted.

Upon originally introducing the bill back in March, Kerry said, “Our public airwaves belong to the American people, and we need to make certain we are putting them to good use in the best interests of those citizens.”

CED publishes a spectrum usage – or frequency allocations – wallchart annually; a copy of the 2008 version can be found here. The 2009 version will be published in our August edition.