[Satellite TODAY 06-30-10] The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG), a trade association representing small, rural wireless carriers, hailed U.S. President Barack Obama’s memorandum to help unleash 500 megahertz (MHz) of wireless broadband spectrum in a D block auction as outlined in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan.
    In a statement released June 29, RTG called the government’s broadband spectrum efforts, “the Louisiana Purchase of the broadband generation.”
    “Auctioning the D block will help to create jobs, foster competition, and facilitate the deployment of the nationwide interoperable public safety network. This is particularly true in rural areas where public safety lacks the resources to deploy and maintain a standalone broadband network, and where increased innovation and competition can foster economic recovery,” RTG Executive Director Tanya Sullivan said in the statement.
    Sullivan and the RTG also encouraged the FCC to quickly move forward to auction and license its current “inventory” of spectrum, particularly the upper 700 MHz D block.