Comcast, Google, Microsoft, Time Warner Cable, the Consumer Electronics Association and other industry stakeholders said they formed WifiForward, a coalition to urge the FCC and Congress to increase the amount of unlicensed spectrum so it’s available for Wi-Fi use. Wi-Fi use is growing 68 percent a year, meaning policymakers will need to open up additional spectrum for unlicensed use in order to avoid a crunch greater than the current congestion being caused “by a deluge of data from more devices, applications and services,” the coalition said Thursday. Analysts said the coalition is likely to have some effect on the policymaking debate around unlicensed spectrum, but immediate change is unlikely.

WifiForward said it’s seeking protection of existing unlicensed spectrum along with new unli- censed designations, along with “investment-friendly, transparent and predictable” unlicensed rules. The coalition said it plans to focus its efforts primarily at the FCC, but will also work with the White House and Congress. Unlicensed advocates have been urging the FCC to increase unlicensed spectrum through the upcoming incentive auction, along with its proceedings on the 3.5 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Although each of the major companies involved in WifiForward “is already a marquee name in Washington, I do think there’s value in this sort of coalition,” said Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gal- lant. “Formal collaboration among companies that don’t always see eye to eye can have a positive effect on policymakers. And it distills the politics for them, which doesn’t hurt either.” It’s “not inconsequential when you get companies of that magnitude to come forward,” said Medley Global Advisors analyst Jef- frey Silva. “But when you get the diverse mix of companies that’s involved in this group, it can’t help but increase momentum for forward action on unlicensed spectrum. I think in and of itself, it doesn’t neces- sarily change the equation overnight as far as policymaking, but it’s a powerful testimonial. I think it can provide more of an impetus for regulatory activity in general.”

A coalition-commissioned study also released Thursday said unlicensed spectrum created $222 billion in value for the U.S. economy in 2013 and increased U.S. GDP by $6.7 billion. The study, done by Telecom Advisory Services, based its GDP finding on estimates that Wi-Fi offload- ing generated $3.12 billion, with an additional $1.44 billion from wireless ISPs’ operations and $2.17 billion in revenue generated by Bluetooth, WirelessHART and Zigbee products (http:// bit.ly/1kFv5oo). A Cisco forecast released last week said 52 percent of all global mobile data traffic will be offloaded onto Wi-Fi networks by 2018, including 56 percent of all traffic originating on 4G networks (CD Feb 6 p13).