Cruz, Fischer Probe OSTP Nominee Kratsios' Midband Spectrum Views Amid DOD Tussle
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee Chair Deb Fischer, R-Neb., probed White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director nominee Michael Kratsios’ views on repurposing midband spectrum during his Tuesday confirmation hearing. The tone of the lawmakers' questions reflected their disagreement about whether a spectrum title in a budget reconciliation package should involve reallocating parts of the DOD-controlled 3.1-3.45 GHz band (see 2502190068). Both cited Kratsios’ role as U.S. chief technology officer during the first Trump administration because it made him part of the White House and DOD's joint America’s Mid-Band Initiative Team. AMBIT worked in 2020 to allow sharing in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band (see 2010130033).
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Cruz asked Kratsios whether he thinks “that this administration will again push for freeing up spectrum for commercial use” and if he agrees “that it is technologically possible to free up spectrum without compromising national security.” Cruz has argued that DOD’s opposition to repurposing any military-controlled bands is unreasonable amid his push to mandate a spectrum pipeline as part of reconciliation. He is touting his 2024 Spectrum Pipeline Act, which would require NTIA to identify at least 2,500 MHz of midband spectrum to reallocate within the next five years.
“It's critically important to always be looking at ways that we can better utilize a spectrum that is currently being occupied by various government agencies,” Kratsios said. The AMBIT process showed “that if you bring the right technologists to bear on these problems, we can find a way that can benefit both the national security interest of the [U.S.] and the commercial interests.”
Fischer, who opposes repurposing DOD spectrum, asked Kratsios if allowing sharing on the 3.45-3.55 GHz band caused “more congestion for defense systems operating in” the lower 3 GHz frequency. DOD “had to compress … even more” in the lower 3 GHz band “in order to accommodate” systems migrating off 3.45-3.55 GHz, she said. “I understand that AMBIT struggled on the back end with major relocation costs from the defense systems that were to place in that process of compressing them.”
Some “of the activities that were in the” 3.45-3.55 GHz band ultimately “were moved down to lower bands,” Kratsios said. “I haven't tracked the details of that since I left office, but there's always transition costs associated with freeing up bands, typically.”
Fischer asked Kratsios if he believes “that DOD testing should be faithfully integrated into a national spectrum policy.” Kratsios said the Pentagon would be a “critical component of the spectrum strategy.” Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also briefly mentioned spectrum test beds during the hearing.
House Commerce Committee Democrats proposed an amendment to the panel’s draft oversight plan for the 119th Congress that would expand the scope of its spectrum management probe language. The amendment would include an examination of the Trump administration’s compliance with the 2022 FCC-NTIA airwaves memorandum of understanding and emphasize that “NTIA is the sole agency charged with overseeing and managing the Federal Government’s use of spectrum.”
The House Commerce plan proposes that the panel “evaluate spectrum-management policies to ensure efficient use of the public airwaves for innovative communications services. The Committee will also examine whether plans for allocating spectrum maximizes broadband deployment and encourages investment.” The committee wants to “pay particular attention to NTIA’s implementation of the National Spectrum Strategy, which required studies intended to make more spectrum available for commercial wireless services.”