Spectrum Auctions Could Become Thing of Past, Says Defense Information Systems Agency

Auctions for commercial bidders to receive exclusive use of spectrum "may become a thing of the past," said Defense Spectrum Organization Director Stuart Timerman at the 2015 Military Radar Summit, the Defense Information Systems Agency said in a news release Thursday. "The need for spectrum in the development of current and future military capabilities makes it nearly impossible" for these auctions to continue, he said. The Department of Defense, FCC, NTIA and industry have to work together to analyze and test spectrum sharing proposals, Timerman said. The National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network established last year, includes federal, academic and commercial test facilities for simulations of spectrum sharing (see 1502050032), he said. Department of Defense systems will have "indefinite sharing" access for spectrum acquired in the AWS-3 auction and federal agencies that have to relocate or share spectrum will recover costs from auction proceeds, according to the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act, he said. Spectrum access systems (SAS) can help the government and commercial users with spectrum sharing by providing a database of processing utilization, Timerman said. SAS developed by commercial companies provide information about systems that are operated on which frequencies, he said. "This visibility can provide insight into what types of interference users may get and even provide the option of shutting down a system to avoid interference."