WASHINGTON: The Federal Communications Commission has launched FCC License View, a searchable online database of license information.
“This consolidated portal allows users of FCC License View to access information on the number of different licenses across services, the number of licenses owned by particular entities, and how many licenses are up for renewal in the future,” the FCC said in announcing the database.
The top page of the Web site indicates that the FCC has more than 3.14 million licenses, of which more than 2 million are active. Sprint Nextel has the most active spectrum licenses with 45,840. Clearwire is next with 12,832. AT&T is No. 3 with 8,808. Next is Verizon Wireless, with 8,073; followed by Aviation Spectrum Resources, with 5,016; State of California, with 4,063; Fibertower, with 3,861; BNSF Railway, with 3,228; US Cellular with 2,855; and Union Pacific Railroad, with 2,792.
The majority of licenses--794,122--are for personal use. Another 688,875 are for safety. Land mobile radio comprises 332,868 licenses. Fixed wireless licenses total 83,114; broadcast support, 32,026; and broadcasting, 30,390.
“This data innovation is a key step toward opening the agency and its resources to the public,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in the announcement. “With the launch of FCC License View, the agency has made a bold stride towards unlocking the complex--but significant--world of FCC license management data.”
The License View dataset is composed of data from the FCC’s five licensing databases, and gives users three formats for usage--HTML, raw files and APIs. The launch follows the FCC’s recent release of its License View API, part of a package of developer community tools announced by Genachowski and Managing Director Steven VanRoekel at the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington, D.C. Sept. 7.
The database is accessible at FCC License View.
