NTIA Report Sketchy on DoD, DHS Spectrum Use
The government should make greater use of smart radio technologies and, “where feasible,” commercial services to make the most of communications spectrum, said NTIA, which Thursday released long-awaited Federal Strategic Spectrum Plan. The report, nearly two years late, used information from 15 federal agencies in assembling a basic portrait of federal agency spectrum use. But material from the Department of Defense, the largest federal user, was extremely vague and lacked a list of specific frequencies.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“Because it comes from the president, because the president requires it, agencies have been very accommodating and they have been very cooperative,” NTIA Administrator Meredith Baker told reporters on a call Thursday. “We kept this at the nonclassified level and felt that was important to provide transparency for everyone to see what the federal [government] is using… If it was classified, we pulled it.” Baker said NTIA had released “an incredibly valuable, in- depth report.”
But the data provided varied widely by agency. The Department of Energy identified important spectrum bands used by agencies there, such as 162.01 to 173.4 MHz and 7.55 to 7.75 GHz. The Department of Commerce provided similar detail. But DoD provided four pages of information with almost no detail. Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security named 162 and 174 MHz and 406.1 and 420 MHz as bands where it has substantial operations. But its data submission, which ran less than two pages, otherwise was vague.
The government will need more spectrum, the NTIA said. “Federal agencies have identified a widespread demand for greater data throughput, which often translates into a need for more bandwidth,” it said. “The agencies underscore a heightened need for wireless broadband applications. For example, [DoD] projects a substantial, but not yet quantified, requirement for broadband communications-on-the- move.”
DoD expects to move to “an IP-based flexible, ad-hoc mobile network providing constant connectivity and situational awareness,” the report said. Faced with increasing complexity in crime fighting, the Department of Justice expects to need more spectrum. “These requirements may mean wider operating bandwidths and/or spectrum access in higher frequency bands, although most requirements for mobile communications focus on use of spectrum below 5 GHz,” the report said.
Spectrum sharing through use of cognitive or smart radios will be key for the government, NTIA said. “This will provide a higher level of confidence of increased spectrum access for Federal, public safety and commercial users, providing an overall framework for meeting increasingly complex spectrum needs.”
The government will use more commercial spectrum, the report said. “The rapid deployment of improved commercial technologies, their decreasing costs, and tight Federal budgets can provide incentives to use such services,” NTIA said. It cited DoD use of commercial satellites.
DoD “relies heavily on capacity on commercial communications satellites but cannot control the availability of such commercial capacity,” NTIA said. “A rational plan is needed to balance commercial use, involving multiple commercial providers, with availability of government- dedicated systems, to ensure access to satellite capacity, whenever and wherever needed.”
Satellite industry consolidation could affect availability of services, perhaps driving the government to expand its own network, NTIA said. “If commercial satellite capacity is insufficient to meet agency missions, additional Federal satellite systems may be required, along with additional spectrum allocations,” the report said.