FCC measurements found that even in major urban areas, only about 30% of allocated radio spectrum was being used at any one time.
Notes on verification
Corroborated by FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force (2002) findings and an independent patent filing citing FCC's ~70% idle spectrum estimate, though exact '30%' figure not directly quoted in FCC source text. [tier=bronze indep_score=0.539 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Open Spectrum (seed:technology_and_ai)
- https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/9769692 (corroboration)
- https://transition.fcc.gov/sptf/files/SEWGFinalReport_1.pdf (corroboration)
- https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-228542A1.pdf (corroboration)