National Spectrum Strategy Targets 5 Bands for Potential Repurposing

The Joe Biden administration released its national spectrum strategy Monday and a presidential memorandum on modernizing U.S.policy is coming. Administration officials provided some of the details Monday morning on a call with reporters. The plan identifies 2,786 MHz of spectrum for potential repurposing,

The plan identifies the 3.1-3.45, 5.03-5.091, 7.125-8.4, 18.1-18.6 and 37.0-37.6 GHz bands for further study by NTIA over the next two years and for potential repurposing. The plan also proposes “evidence-based methodology for spectrum allocation decisions” and a national testbed for dynamic spectrum sharing to be launched within 12-18 months. The administration will establish a Spectrum Advisory Council “as the principal interagency forum for senior agency leaders to advise NTIA on spectrum policy,” the factsheet said.

“We received in an extensive public engagement process that NTIA conducted a wide range of suggestions for bands that we might study,” an administration official told reporters. The ones identified “are those that we’ve identified as the best near-term opportunities,” the official said. An official said the testbed won't duplicate work already being done.

“Our satellite systems, TVs, cellphones and wireless internet all depend on spectrum, as may countless future innovations that may not even be at the planning stage right now,” Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said on the call. “For years, leaders in the private and public sectors have called for a spectrum strategy like this one,” she said.

“The National Strategy and Presidential Memorandum will guide decisions about how to allocate limited spectrum resources and ensure these decisions are made through a rigorous, transparent process, which is more important today than ever, as new technologies create increasing demands for spectrum,” said a factsheet on the documents set to be released: “Innovations ranging from 5G networks, to precision agriculture, to unmanned aerial vehicles, to moon missions take large amounts of spectrum to operate. Meeting the demands of innovation requires America’s spectrum policy to adapt and improve.”