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Lawmakers must look past the current spectrum auctions...

Lawmakers must look past the current spectrum auctions when considering spectrum policy, said Darren Achord, a senior legislative assistant leading telecom policy for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Achord spoke Tuesday at a briefing hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute…

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at the Capitol. This forward-looking need is a challenge, “because so much focus is on the here and now,” he said, calling on government to use spectrum as efficiently and effectively as possible. There’s need for more spectrum sharing and scrutiny of barriers to wireless infrastructure deployment, he said. Rubio has highlighted spectrum policy as a priority this year and introduced two pieces of legislation on the topic. “On the member level, it’s just the education about how important this is,” Achord added, lamenting people falling asleep at the sound of gigahertz. “It’s all about after those auctions,” Achord said. “We've got to continue to be looking forward. … Can we make more spectrum available? Where do we need to be doing that?”