FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the FCC's vote Thursday to allocate spectrum for medical implant devices was another example of why the FCC needed to free up wireless spectrum for broadband innovation.
In addition to approving the medical implant spectrum Wednesday, Genachowski said that the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology would soon be issuing an order allowing a company to proceed with a wireless retinal prosthesis that could restore sight to some individuals with eye diseases.
The chairman got almost Biblical in his comments on the vote to advance medical technologies that would make paraplegics walk and blind people see.
He said people needed to look no further than those potential medical miracles to see why the FCC has put such a premium on unleashing mobile innovation.
The FCC is looking to unleash more spectrum by getting Congress to give it the authority to reclaim broadcast spectrum to auction for wireless broadband. A House bill to do that is scheduled to be marked up in the House Communications Subcommittee Thursday (Dec. 1).
