US President Barack Obama is proposing a hike in spectrum license fees over the next two years in order to generate new revenue for the government, reports Cnet News. According to new government budget proposals, license fees are set to rise to US$200 million in 2010, from US$50 million in 2009. The reports adds that the fees will gradually increase over the next 10 years to US$550 million per spectrum user per year, generating an estimated total of US$4.8 billion for the government over the next decade. The proposed fees are in addition to license fees that operators have already paid the federal government as part of its wireless auctions.

According to the report, the new proposals are likely to be opposed by the US mobile operators, though none of the country’s big four mobile firms – AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless – have yet to comment on the proposals. However, trade association CTIA said it is “currently reviewing the details of the proposal and look forward to participating in the next stages of this issue.”