Biden Seeks 'Science-Based' Decisions on Spectrum: White House Official

President Joe Biden understands the importance of a “coordinated policy” that maximizes "the benefits the American people get from spectrum,” Austin Bonner, deputy U.S. chief technology officer-policy, said Thursday during the NTIA spectrum policy symposium's final panel. The White House's spectrum strategy reaffirms the FCC's and NTIA's roles, establishes the Interagency Spectrum Advisory Council (ISAC) and creates a White House-led mechanism for dispute resolution, providing “a consistent and clear place to bring challenges,” she said. During the many meetings the administration held before releasing the strategy, a consistent theme was “the need for senior level buy-in,” which led to ISAC's creation, she said. Bonner said the council is planning on meeting regularly. From the beginning of the administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she works, the National Economic Council and the National Security Council “strongly agreed that spectrum policy needed to change” and “needed presidential-level direction,” Bonner said. The strategy ensures that, before spectrum studies are conducted, they’re coordinated between NTIA and the agencies. “That’s really critical,” said Matthew Pearl, NSC director and special adviser-emerging technologies. Something that emerged during recent spectrum fights was the importance of assumptions and methodology when bands are studied, Pearl said. The president wants a “science-based, data-based approach” on spectrum issues, he said. NTIA and ISAC will be unable to resolve some issues and that’s when the White House will step in and convene the agencies prior to a decision, he said. Pearl noted that he was previously at the FCC and worked on spectrum issues, including the C-band. The FCC and NTIA “have made significant progress” in working together, adopting and operationalizing a memorandum of understanding on proposed spectrum decisions, he said (see 2208020076). The White House is committed to resolving disputes “as early in the process as we can,” he said, acknowledging difficult spectrum issues will result in disputes. “We’ve turned a corner, but we also have set ourselves a challenging road,” Bonner said.