Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Spectrum Policy Reform

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 05:07:47 -0400

Spectrum Policy Reform

By Joseph P. Camacho

The management of the spectrum is divided between two separate, independent
agencies in the United States. The Department of Commerce's National
Telecommunications and Information Admin-istration (NTIA) is responsible for
managing the spectrum used by the agencies of the Federal government, while the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for managing the spectrum
used by State and Local government agencies, business industry and consumers.

The NTIA and the FCC have embarked on a major spectrum policy and management
reformation. The forces making reform necessary are four fold:

increasing spectrum demands from the private sector as more and more wireless
mobility is becoming a business, social and political necessity;  continued and
increasing requirements for spectrum for important services provided by all levels
of government in the United States, such as public safety, national defense and
aircraft and maritime radionavigation; and
the physical characteristics of the spectrum that make certain frequency bands
much more desirable than others for some applications. Seldom has such highlevel
attention been given to spectrum management.

NTIA Spectrum Summit

Recognizing the need for spectrum management reform, NTIA Administrator and
Assistant Secretary of Commerce Nancy J. Victory convened a Spectrum Summit as an
important first step in spectrum management reform. NTIA held the two-day spectrum
summit in Washington, DC in April 2002 . It focused on ways to encourage spectrum
efficiency; provide spectrum for new technologies; and improve the effectiveness
of the domestic and international spectrum management processes. Senior officials
from government, the private sector and academia participated.

When initiating the first-ever Spectrum Summit, Assistant Secretary Victory said,
"we are going to continue to be a leader in technology, and if our citizens are
going to be able to enjoy all the benefits such technological advancement can
bring, we need to find spectrum to deploy all these wonderful new wireless
products and services. And just so there is no misunderstanding - we need to find
spectrum for commercial and governmental uses because Americans benefit greatly
from them both."

A wide variety of participants provided many observations and great ideas that
resulted in identifying a number of areas for further investigations and analyses.
"This will not be a short-term project, but one we must accept as a challenge
thoroughly and thoughtfully. We intend to turn what we learn into action items to
affect the changes needed to better manage this essential resource," said
Assistant Secretary Victory.

The four important themes that came out of the summit were:

One spectrum team. The U.S. government agencies responsible for spectrum
management, namely the NTIA, the FCC, and the Department of State (DOS)- must work
together to serve the nation's interests as "one spectrum team."
Forward-looking spectrum policies. There is the need to modernize our spectrum
policies so that they are forward-looking. A concerted effort needs to be made to
eliminate unnecessary government micromanagement of spectrum uses. This means
taking a fresh look at legacy policies, rules and restrictions to assess their
ability to accommodate emerging technologies or spectrum needs.

Spectrum efficiency. The United States must pursue policies that encourage
spectrum efficiency and discourage spectrum waste.

Flexible spectrum policies. The United States must develop spectrum policies that
ensure the deployment of robust wireless networks that are prepared for the worst
of crises and that are able to deliver the best of services to the government,
defense and public safety communities as well as to the American people. The
wireless networks of today and tomorrow must be robust and capable of functioning
well, especially under the stress and strain of an emergency situation.

Future Spectrum Initiatives

While the U.S. telecommunications industry has made some great strides over the
last year, there is still much work to be done. The NTIA intends to focus on a
number of major spectrum issues designed to improve overall spectrum management.

Among other things, NTIA plans to address and enhance spectrum efficiency among
government users. The first part of this initiative is to review just how
government agencies are using their spectrum today. In this regard, NTIA will be
conducting a study of the current and future use of the federal land mobile
spectrum in the Washington/Baltimore area. Based on this use, the NTIA will
identify the technical improvements or changes via technology, spectrum management
practices, and/or standards to increase effectiveness of spectrum use and spectral
efficiency. If this approach works, NTIA's efforts would be expanded to the
remainder of the land mobile radio services and other radio services as well.

The NTIA also will be examining whether certain market-based spectrum policies
successful on the private sector side can be applied to the federal government to
encourage efficient spectrum use. For example, could secondary leasing options be
made available to government licensees to permit them to lease out a portion of
their spectrum in non-emergency situations and recover it in the event an
emergency?

The NTIA also hopes to address spectrum rights relative to interference
protection. Right now there is no standard formula or methodology for determining
levels of acceptable interference. That's one of the reasons why negotiating new
sharing situations takes so long and is so contentious. This year, the NTIA plans
to begin identifying the interference protection criteria for various radio
services. If this effort is successful, the NTIA will consider adopting the
derived interference protection criteria standards into its rules and regulations.
In that case, the NTIA also may encourage the FCC to adopt these new standards
where applicable.

Receiver standards is another area that the NTIA hopes to investigate. To the
extent that a receiver is more robust, it has the potential to reduce interference
and increase sharing. The NTIA also will be considering inclusion of these
standards in NTIA's rules and regulations if doing so will mitigate interference,
be practical and be cost effective.

The Bush Administration has and will continue to advance policies that promote
efficiency of spectrum use. The NTIA's recent achievements in new technology areas
demonstrate what can be done when those competing for spectrum are given the
opportunity to work together to develop innovative solutions to complex spectrum
management issues and responsibilities. This type of honest coordination, coupled
with the spectrum management initiatives proposed by NTIA, will go a long way in
helping to bring new and advanced wireless technologies to market.

FCC Reform: The Spectrum Policy Task Force

In June 2002, FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell established the Spectrum Policy Task
Force to assist the Commission in identifying and evaluating changes in spectrum
policy that will increase the public benefits derived from the use of radio
spectrum. The creation of the task force initiated the first-ever comprehensive
and systematic review of 90 years of spectrum policy at the FCC. The November 2002
Spectrum Policy Task Force Report culminated FCC efforts in its Public Notice,
information meetings and four public workshops. The report's findings and
recommendations for improving the way that the electromagnetic radio spectrum is
managed is expected to serve as a catalyst for further advancement of spectrum
policy at the FCC. (See http://www.fcc.gov/sptf/.)

FCC and NTIA Memorandum of Understanding

FCC Chairman Powell and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Victory have both
emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation and coordination of spectrum issues
throughout the government to promote efficient use of the radio spectrum in the
public interest. On January 31, 2003, the FCC and the Commerce Department's NTIA
executed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on spectrum coordination. The
MOU, signed by FCC Chairman Powell and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Victory,
will apply to coordination of spectrum issues involving both federal and
non-federal users. (See
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-230835A2.pdf)

The FCC and NTIA had been operating under an MOU dating back to October 1940. The
new agreement establishes procedures relating to frequency coordination, as well
as spectrum planning provisions contained in the Communications Act. This MOU
establishes a framework for compliance with the statutory requirements and
stipulates that the Chairman of the FCC and Assistant Secretary for Communications
and Information shall meet biannually to conduct joint spectrum planning. The MOU
further stipulates that the FCC and NTIA spectrum staffs shall meet regularly on
spectrum planning issues. The MOU also is consistent with a recent Congressional
General Accounting Office report that focused on the need for greater cooperation
between the two spectrum policy organizations.

Upon signing, Chairman Powell stated, "This marks a historical step forward in
spectrum policy reform. Much has changed in the sixty plus years since the
original MOU was adopted. As the task force recently found, spectrum policy is
simply too important to be locked in such a policy time warp. The Commission and
NTIA will now be more responsive, cooperative and effective. Ultimately, this
partnership will mean more efficient regulatory processes that will speed the
deployment of new innovative spectrum-based services to consumers. I look forward
to working with Assistant Secretary Victory and her team on additional ways to
improve spectrum management." Chairman Powell has identified spectrum policy
reform as one of the key strategic goals of his job.

"To deal effectively with critical spectrum management issues, it is essential
that the U.S. government works together as 'One Spectrum Team'," said Assistant
Secretary Victory. "Chairman Powell and I and our staffs have worked hard to
achieve a close and productive working relationship that operates effectively and
delivers results. The MOU we signed today memorializes that relationship to ensure
that this heightened level of cooperation between our agencies will continue for
years to come. Through better coordination, we can manage the spectrum more
effectively, facilitating the introduction of new technologies, the satisfaction
of critical user needs and, ultimately, the enhancement of our nation's economic
and homeland security." (See
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2003/MOUJan31.htm)

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