Defense Analyst Urges Against Repurposing Lower 3 GHz Band Amid Golden Dome Uncertainty
Disruptive Analysis Director Dean Bubley said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s high-profile promise of a Golden Dome that will protect the U.S. from missile attacks, similar to Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, “should lead policymakers to rethink the wisdom or feasibility of clearing” the DOD-controlled 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use. DOD supporters’ concerns about repurposing the lower 3 GHz band are the main sticking point in talks to mandate a spectrum pipeline as part of a coming budget reconciliation package (see 2505020047). DOD in March proposed making 420 MHz from current military-controlled frequencies available for FCC auction while maintaining the Pentagon’s grip on the lower 3 GHz band (see 2504040068).
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“It is unclear which radio frequencies will be required for missile detection or for command and control” to execute Trump’s Golden Dome proposal, Bubley said in a Defense Opinion essay. “A range of bands will be needed -- perhaps with usage patterns significantly greater than today.” Still, that uncertainty argues “for avoiding hasty decisions on clearing existing federal bands currently used for radar,” he said. “Military and homeland security application use of wireless is going to change significantly in the next few years, and so maintaining optionality is wise. The lower [3 GHz] band and also [7 and 8 GHz bands] are relevant spectrum bands in this context. ...
“Even without the new Iron Dome initiative, the lower [3 GHz] band should be maintained for DoD use, with appropriate sharing if it can be made sufficiently dynamic,” Bubley said. “Adding in additional missile defense requirements makes any rush to reallocate some or all of the band foolhardy. The final decision process will have multiple stages, but some are pushing to rush through spectrum auctions as part of the budget reconciliation bill that GOP leaders hope to pass by the end of May. Given the strategic importance -- and the possible clash between different policy goals -- it is critical that this issue is properly and rapidly addressed.”