National Spectrum Strategy to be Complete by End of Year: NTIA Head

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2023 – The head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Tuesday that the national spectrum plan is set to be complete by the end of the year.

The national spectrum strategy will represent a government-wide approach to maximizing the potential of the nation’s spectrum resources.

The national spectrum strategy is “a top priority,” said NTIA head Alan Davidson, adding that the agency is working closely with the Federal Communications Commission to develop the plan. “We received a lot of input from both within and outside the federal government.”

In March, the NTIA submitted a request for comment regarding the development and implementation of this strategy. It sought comment on the nation’s spectrum needs, how best to engage in long-term spectrum planning, and technology innovations that could better manage the nation’s spectrum resources.

Scott Harris, senior spectrum advisor at the NTIA, said that the plan focuses on four major pillars: improving long-range coordination between government agencies and the private sector, identifying 1500 megahertz of spectrum in the near term to find what repurposing is possible, leveraging technology to manage spectrum sharing, and developing the workforce.

The agency has commissioned subcommittees to research the plausibility of increasing the efficient use of spectrum by determining what improvements in the propagation model could improve accuracy, how radar and other systems can co-exist, and how risk-based analysis techniques can be used to optimize federal systems, among other solutions.

Subcommittees are in the process of conducting interviews with federal agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and industry leaders, including service providers, cable companies, equipment manufacturers and chip manufacturers. Reports will be submitted by the end of the year.

Located within the Department of Commerce, the NTIA is responsible with advising the president on telecommunications policy issues and managing the federal government’s use of spectrum. Working alongside the NTIA is the FCC, an independent agency that shuttles the commercial use of spectrum. The FCC’s spectrum auction authority expired earlier this year.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., is heading two bills, the Spectrum Relocation Enhancement Act and the Spectrum Coexistence Act that would make updates to the spectrum relocation fund that compensates federal agencies to clear spectrum for commercial use and would require the NTIA to conduct a review of federal receiver technology to support more intensive use of limited spectrum.