One of the constant wireless industry topics of conversation is spectrum: Who is buying what, who is using what, the technical pros and cons of different bands—and how to get more of it in commercial use.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has put out a new request for comment on a national spectrum strategy and pipeline for spectrum allocations, and the related technologies that could help all the various users of spectrum do so more efficiently. NTIA is hoping to hear from developers and end-users of spectrum and spectrum-based technologies services, contractors for federal missions, academics, the public sector and others. So now’s your chance to help NTIA tune into ideas and discussions, formal or otherwise, around the future of spectrum use in the United States.
NTIA says that it wants to identify at least 1,500 megahertz of spectrum to study for potential repurposing to meet the needs of federal and non-federal users, calling that effort “perhaps the most ambitious study goal for NTIA to date.”
NTIA wants input on how to balance the spectrum needs of a wide variety of users, from fixed and mobile wireless broadband to intelligent transportation services, IoT, wireless medical devices/telemedicine, satellite communications, use of spectrum by verticals such as agriculture, manufacturing and utilities; and government uses of spectrum, from defense applications to climate monitoring and various scientific uses.
Specifically, the agency wants feedback in three areas: Suggestions on requirements, bands and trade-offs that ought to be accounted for in a national spectrum strategy; what a long-term spectrum planning process should look like; and what innovations, frameworks or tools could help make more efficient use of limited spectrum resources.
“Practically every part of American life—from our digital economy to our national defense—runs on spectrum. To keep driving innovation and maintain our country’s wireless leadership, we have to make the best possible use of this scarce resource,” said White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar. “Feedback and ideas from spectrum users across the United States will help us develop a National Spectrum Strategy that meets the needs of today and tomorrow.”
“Demand for America’s scarce spectrum resources continues to grow,” said Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator. “Our National Spectrum Strategy will help to ensure that innovators and entrepreneurs can access the spectrum resources they need to bring exciting new products and services to market, and that government missions can meet the demands of the 21st century.”
NTIA hopes to have a strategy developed by the end of this year; the deadline to submit comments is April 17, 2023. More information can be found here. The agency is also holding listening sessions on March 30 in Washington, D.C. and April 11 at the University of Notre Dame, hosted by SpectrumX, which is an NSF Center for Spectrum Innovation. Both sessions will be available via webcast.
