CTIA Chief Calls on Policymakers to Revise How They Think About Spectrum

CTIA President Meredith Baker said that policymakers must reverse course to change how spectrum is allocated in the U.S., moving away from too much focus on unlicensed and not enough on full-power licensed spectrum. The U.S. has allocated three times as much unlicensed spectrum as licensed, she said during a CTIA 5G Summit Monday. Baker noted the national spectrum strategy's focus on the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands. “The studies of these bands have to start immediately and examine all options,” she said.

“We’re genuinely interested in ensuring we maintain a partnership with industry,” said Lt. Gen. David Isaacson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The military and industry must work together to “solve hard problems,” he said. “There is an opportunity for a win-win,” said Isaacson, who is director-command, control, communications and computers/cyber. DOD is the prime occupant of the bands industry most covets.

The world is increasingly dangerous and volatile and achieving military advantage over adversaries is becoming “more and more difficult,” Isaacson said. “Our adversaries are modernizing,” he said: “They’re buying more capability, not less. They’re buying smaller capability, not larger. They’re going faster than ever … and they’re maneuverable and not predictable.”

“We’re watching determined adversaries determine the way forward and the lethality of future warfare,” Isaacson said. While DOD understands the importance of U.S. economic power, it uses spectrum “for radios to radars and everything else in between,” he said.

NTIA is “already hard at work” on the band studies the spectrum strategy calls for, said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson at the event, but didn’t offer new details (see 2404260050). NTIA needs help from the wireless industry and continued industry engagement to meet its goals, he said. Also, “we need [to have FCC] spectrum authority restored by Congress,” he said. He has seen signs of progress on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, though “we all have our work cut out for us now.”

This year’s wireless growth must come without the benefit of new licensed spectrum, which is “unsustainable,” Baker said as the summit opened. “We are falling further behind globally when it comes to spectrum access,” she said. The U.S. wireless industry will need access to at least 400 MHz more spectrum in 2027, she said.

Baker noted the national spectrum strategy focuses on the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands. “The studies of these bands have to start immediately and examine all options,” she said. Fixed wireless access is the best example “of just how significant the capabilities we have unlocked are,” she said: “5G home is helping to close the digital divide across our country. It is also creating real competition by providing a much-needed alternative to cable, a choice that is both compelling and powerful.”

The time between when the government allocates spectrum to when it’s used can be a decade, said Slayton Stewart, CEO of Carolina West Wireless. Stewart’s spectrum wish list includes reauthorization of FCC auction authority, followed by creation of a spectrum pipeline of bands to be made available for 5G and 6G. Carriers are more united in their goals than at any time he can remember, he said. Citizens broadband radio service and other low-power spectrum isn’t a substitute for high-power licensed spectrum, Stewart said. Lower-power bands require more fiber, more towers and more USF support to cover rural areas, he said.

UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel stressed the importance of coordinating 5G and fixed-wireless buildouts with the broadband, equity, access and deployment program. “By being smart about the way that we sequence the use of our government programs and the way that industry works with government,” the costs of coverage can be cut sharply, he said. Having 5G in place and ubiquitous mobile broadband supports “a whole bunch of new technologies,” he said. Uber doesn’t work properly on a 3G network, he said.