Pressure Cooker

I don’t think it’s any secret that the federal government has been the whipping boy for those that demand more and more of the electromagnetic spectrum for commercial uses.  As the largest government user of said spectrum, the Department of Defense (DoD) has become part of the government policy solutions to provide greater spectrum access to commercial users.  The following points represent several of the major reallocation actions that have resulted in a loss of overall spectrum access to government users (courtesy of the Defense Spectrum Office):

• The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and Balanced Budget Act of 1997 repurposed 237 MHz (under 5 GHz) of  federal spectrum – all used by DoD
• Relocation from 1710-1755 MHz required 4 years as well as a DoD cost of $355M and a federal government cost ~$1B (reimbursed through the auction process).
  • FCC’s National Broadband Plan, NTIA’s 10-Year Plan & Presidential Memorandum (June 2010) called for 500 MHz (both federal and non-federal) to be reallocated for commercial broadband use this decade.

DoD studies completed so far include:

–     3500-3650 MHz Band:   Aegis Class/Ship-borne Radars – Air & Ballistic Missile Defense and Maritime Air Traffic Control Radars

–     1675-1710 MHz Band:  Fixed, Mobile, and Ship-borne Meteorological & Oceanographic Satellite Receivers

–     1755-1850 MHz Band:  Satellite Control, Aerial Telemetry, Air Combat Training Systems, Precision Guided Munitions, Small UAS, Tactical Radio Relay and EW systems (On-going)

The DoD is also participating in five working groups, established under the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), that are in the process of discussing issues regarding the repurposing of 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands.  On top of that, the Congressional Bi-Partisan Task Force (Walden-Eshoo) was established to look at federal spectrum with the goal of identifying additional federal spectrum that can be brought to market.  Where does it end?

So, pressure on DoD spectrum continues to grow while the requirements for spectrum use increase (unmanned air vehicles and spectrum hogs, for example!).  The loss of access to any spectrum increases the risk that the U.S. military won’t be able to operate to their full capabilities both domestically and internationally.

Somehow, the DoD will have to balance meeting the operational requirements of the national defense strategy against commercial interests in a time of shrinking resources (DoD code word for MONEY!).  Spectrum sharing and the introduction of spectrum-efficient technologies and more capable spectrum management tools show great promise in overcoming these challenges.  Personally, knowing a lot of people that are involved in meeting this challenge, I’m confident that they’ll get it done.  It’ll be exciting to watch!