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Spectrum and Wireless Policy
As the President's principal adviser on telecommunications
policy issues, NTIA's proposes and analyzes Administration
policy on a wide variety of issues regarding radio
spectrum and wireless devices. NTIA's Office
of Spectrum Management is responsible for
the management of spectrum used by Federal Government
agencies and related policies. The Office of Policy Analysis
and Development addresses the regulatory, economic, and
commercial aspects of non-federal as well as federal
spectrum use, regarding such matters as incentives for
more efficient use, and uses including commercial mobile
(cellular) telecommunications, broadcast spectrum, private
radio, and Wi-Fi and other license exempt (unlicensed)
spectrum operations.
The President's Spectrum Policy Initiative
Spectrum
Management Reform: President Bush signed
an executive
memorandum on May 29, 2003 to begin an Administration
initiative to reform radio spectrum
policies. The goal is to better manage the Nation's
airwaves, enhance homeland and economic security; increase
benefits to consumers and ensure U.S. leadership in
high-tech innovations. The President's memorandum established
the Federal
Government Spectrum Task Force, composed of representatives
from a number of federal departments and agencies.
In June 2004, following a series of public events and
a public inquiry, NTIA issued two reports with recommendations to
improve spectrum management. The Task Force released Report
1, and Report
2 included recommendations from state and local
governments and private sector responders. On November
30, 2004, the President requested in an executive
memorandum that the Department of Commerce submit
a plan to implement the reports recommendations.
Market
Incentives to Increase Efficiency
Spectrum is a
limited natural resource for which there are many competing
users and uses. Soaring demand for spectrum caused
by new technologies and growth in wireless services
has led to increasing competition for frequencies,
sometimes between commercial providers and government
agencies providing crucial public services. Market-based
spectrum management employs the same tools used to
allocate other resources by unleashing the value of
the spectrum through a less centralized management
process that creates economic incentives to encourage
efficient use.
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted many
market-based incentives, including auctions and greater
flexibility to licensees, for non-government users.
Report
1 and Report
2 of the President's Spectrum Policy Initiative each recommended that NTIA:
- Improve federal agencies’ processes and procedures
to better consider the economic value of spectrum when
investing in spectrum-dependent systems
- Identify and create incentives for efficiency, and
specifically:
- Develop and implement, with the agencies, a plan
to use incentives to encourage efficient and effective
spectrum use, including methods or models to determine
spectrum value
- Encourage Congress to enact incentive authorities
- Use that authority to develop increased spectrum
incentives, and
- Examine, with the FCC, modifying spectrum rights
to encourage efficiency
Project G of the NTIA’s Implementation
Plan for
the recommendations of the President’s initiative
identified the following tasks, which have been assigned
to OPAD:
Task G.3 – Develop a Plan to Identify and Implement
Incentives for Improving Efficiency in Federal Agencies’ Spectrum
Use
Task G.4 – Promote the Implementation of a Wide
Range of Incentives to Improve the Efficiencies of Both
Government and Private Sector Spectrum Use
NTIA identified a number of projects to identify and implement incentives in its: Plan to Identify and Implement Incentives that Promote More Efficient and Effective Use of Spectrum [ PDF ]
Commerce
Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) The
CSMAC provides NTIA expertise and advice on how to enable
new technologies and services, including reforms that
expedite the American public’s access to broadband
services, public safety, digital television, and long-range
spectrum planning. Its charter states that it will act
as a liaison between the stakeholders represented by
the membership and the federal government, and it also
may provide a forum for discussing current and emerging
issues in spectrum management, spectrum policy, reform
and technology. For more information, please visit
the CSMAC
Web Page.
Events and Conferences
- Improving
Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives:
NTIA sponsored a workshop on Improving
Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives on
February 28 - March 1, 2006 at the National Academy
of Sciences. The workshop elicited views and proposals
regarding the use of economic or other incentives
to increase spectrum management efficiency. Session
topics included spectrum valuation, rights and
secondary markets, sharing and fees
Agenda [
-- HTML -- Acrobat
PDF -- ]
- Public
Events: As part of the spectrum initiative,
NTIA organized a series of public
events in Washington D.C. and Santa
Clara, California.
- Wireless
Innovations Showcase and Conference:
In May 2003, NTIA, in cooperation with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department
of State's Office of International Communications
and Information Policy (CIP), hosted a two-day
Wireless Innovations Conference. The first day
was a technology showcase organized by the FCC,
attended by Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Ambassador
Janice Obuchowski, FCC Chairman Michael Powell,
and Assistant Secretary Nancy Victory among others.
This showcase included live demonstrations of cutting
edge wireless technologies and applications for
policy makers and members of the public. The second
day featured panel discussions among key policy
makers, entrepreneurs, industry representatives,
and experts from government and academia. Discussions
centered on such topics as the current market for
Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services, security and
privacy issues, spectrum and related issues, and
international issues.
- NTIA
Spectrum Summit: In April 2002, NTIA
held a two-day Spectrum Summit in order to identify
the best solutions to challenges posed by management
of the nation's airwaves. In a number of open discussions,
panelists and attendees addressed issues including
spectrum allocation and efficiency, the spectrum
requirements of new technologies, and regulatory
processes. This summit represented a key step through
which NTIA, the Federal Communications Commission
and federal agencies began working together to
make spectrum management processes more effective.
Speeches
For Further Information
For more information contact:
Joe
Gattuso,
jgattuso@ntia.doc.gov
National Telecommunications and Information
Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th St. & Constitution Ave., NW, Room 4725
Washington, D.C. 20230
Voice: (202) 482-1880 · Fax: (202) 482-6173
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