The Defense Department on Thursday will release the first part of its electromagnetic spectrum strategy, which a top official said will focus on “flexible spectrum access.”
DoD is proposing reallocating spectrum access as part of a presidential memorandum on behalf of President Barack Obama to open up spectrum for potential economic development. A 2010 presidential memorandum directed the commerce secretary, working through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to collaborate with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make available a total of 500 megahertz (MHz) of federal and non-federal spectrum over the next 10 years for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use.
NTIA said this initiative, to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum, will spur investment, economic growth and job creation while supporting the growing demand by consumers and businesses for wireless broadband services.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Wheeler, deputy chief information officer (CIO) for command, control, communications and computers (C4) and information infrastructure capabilities (ICC), said Tuesday flexible spectrum access is where DoD sees technology moving toward. Wheeler also said regulatory flexibility will play a critical part in DoD’s spectrum initiative as it goes “hand-in-hand” with flexible spectrum access.
“We’re going to have to think through how we do business in the future if we’re going to use every single piece of that spectrum correctly,” Wheeler told an audience Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in downtown Washington.
DoD’s spectrum strategy, Wheeler said, involves the “normalization” of international spectrums. While a warfighter may not care what spectrum is being used as he or she goes door-to-door, Wheeler said spectrum is critically important on a larger, “nation-building” stage. Wheeler said, for example, if the United States is in the Philippines trying to take care of a typhoon survival issue, it wants to use a spectrum that doesn’t hider the Philippines’ own efforts within the country.
According to a 2010 report, the Commerce Department identified over 2200 MHz of federal and non-federal spectrum that the NTIA and the FCC consider prospects for repurposing for broadband use. The report also said NTIA identified spectrum that can be freed up for new uses by making available 15 MHz of spectrum (specifically 1695-1710 MHz) while protecting, by use of exclusion zones, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission-critical functions of weather forecasting and severe storm warnings, as well as other uses by a number of federal agencies.
The Commerce Department report also said NTIA proposed freeing 100 MHz of spectrum between 3550-3650 MHz while protecting Navy coastal operations and other DoD test and training areas. It also identified two 20 MHz bands of spectrum (40 MHz within 4200 and 4400 MHz) that might be freed up, depending upon international reallocation and further study to determine whether radio altimeters actually operate in the 40 MHz being considered.
While DoD is participating in Obama’s 500 MHz initiative, it also has its own growing requirements resulting from increased use of spectrum-dependent technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO) Teri Takai testified in June. Takai told a House panel DoD’s inventory of UAV platforms has increased from 167 in 2002 to nearly 7,500 in 2010, resulting in a dramatic increase in UAV use and training requirements and, consequently, an increase in demand for spectrum to adequately satisfy those missions.
Takai said in June, in support of the 500 MHz initiative, an initial frequency band assessment, commonly referred to as the “fast track study,” resulted in arrangements to geographically share the 1695-1710 and 3550-3650 MHz bands. Takai also said a relocation feasibility assessment of the 1755-1850 MHz band was significant as NTIA concluded it was possible to repurpose all 95 MHz of spectrum, based on conditions outlined in the report.
Takai said an NTIA report showed a total cost of $18 billion for all federal agencies to reallocate spectrum with approximately $13 billion as DoD’s cost. The timeline to relocate systems from the 1755-1850 MHz band, Takai said, is dependent upon the schedule of developing and deployable capabilities. These can vary from a few years for simple systems with readily available alternatives, Takai said, up to 5-10 years for more complex systems and upward of 30 years for space systems, for which Takai said modification is not an option. Takai also said as of June, DoD had identified 405 MHz of spectrum for potential commercial broadband use.
NTIA called the 1755-1850 MHz band “prime spectrum” in a March 2012 report. Takai said in June DoD had been cooperating with three major wireless providers to evaluate sharing the band, including allowing the wireless providers on selected DoD sites to monitor the spectrum, as well as modeling, simulation and analysis, to develop and understanding of the sharing environment.
The White House Friday released a request for information (RFI) seeking public input on ways to provide greater incentives to federal agencies to relinquish spectrum for wireless broadband or other innovative commercial uses. Public comment is due by March 18.
DoD did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment.