NTIA Must Outline Clear Spectrum Auction Targets for U.S. 5G Leadership: CTIA

January 18, 2024 – The Wireless Association, commonly known as CTIA, is raising concerns as the United States grapples with obstacles to making additional spectrum available for commercial use, saying the situation is now a threat to the nation’s global 5G leadership.

CTIA unveiled Wednesday a comprehensive action plan for U.S. spectrum policy.

It asserted that 2024 must be a decisive year for U.S. policymakers to address challenges and meet escalating consumer demand. The plan outlines key actions for policymakers to take to foster innovation and growth in the country’s wireless market.

CTIA’s strategy calls for resolving the current deficit of available spectrum by granting licensed commercial access to the lower 3 Gigahertz band, correcting what the industry group says are “faulty assumptions” made by a prior government study of the 3 GHz band completed by the Department of Defense in 2023.

The DoD contended in December that the agency could not currently share spectrum in the 3 GHz band, as doing so would require moving government systems to other frequencies.

The industry group proposes expediting the two-year schedule, proposed by the Biden administration’s National Spectrum Strategy, for studying spectrum to make available for commercial use.

The spectrum plan outlined by the federal government instructs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to conduct a two-year study on 2,786 Megahertz of spectrum, with the eventual goal of making it available for commercial use. However, no immediate plans for auctioning off the spectrum are proposed.

CTIA’s plan says in order for the U.S. to maintain dominance in the wireless industry, the NTIA, which manages the public use of spectrum, must publish a robust National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan, outlining clear targets for forthcoming spectrum auctions.

Another objective of CTIA’s call to action includes assessing the 7/8 GHz band for more immediate commercial use. The plan also calls for Congress to restore the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority, and ensure a spectrum pipeline for future auctions dedicated to 5G.

As the spectrum policy landscape evolves rapidly, decisions made in 2024 will have far-reaching implications on the nation’s global standing in 5G technology, economic growth, and geopolitical influence.