Trusty: FCC to Push for International Leadership in ISAC
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty said in a speech Thursday that the agency will use its returned auction authority and other initiatives to make the U.S. an international leader in integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), the technology that combines tracking and data transmission. It lets mobile communications networks be used to sense and track non-connected objects, similar to radar. “ISAC is not just a technical evolution; it is a strategic leap,” Trusty said at the ISAC Strategy Summit in Arlington, Virginia, Thursday. “It gives us a chance to fuse our economic and national security goals into a common platform.” The international race for ISAC leadership “is already underway,” Trusty said. “Just as with 5G, those who move first will shape the technical rules, secure the supply chains, and capture the economic benefits. The question is not whether ISAC will be deployed; it is who will deploy it first, at scale, and on their own terms.”
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Trusty said that ISAC can help the FCC maximize spectrum efficiency and that the agency can encourage experimentation using grants of special temporary authority. FCC work on the IP transition and accelerating broadband infrastructure will help support tech that enhances ISAC performance, such as artificial intelligence, she said. She said the FCC’s recently approved review of emergency alerting is aimed at modernizing those systems, and that could involve ISAC technology. “The future addition of ISAC capabilities into our emergency response, disaster monitoring, and infrastructure protection promises to save more lives,” Trusty said: “Access to spectrum is not just a commercial telecommunications issue, it is a national security issue. It is foundational to modern warfare and our ability to project power, superiority, and resilience in a rapidly changing world.”