WASHINGTON-Gregory Rohde, President Clinton’s new telecom adviser, last week said the top international telecom issue next year will be finding more spectrum for third-generation mobile telephone systems.
“This is going to be the big issue next spring-probably the biggest international issue next year,” Rohde told reporters last Thursday in his first briefing as head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Rohde said he has been working with Gail Schoettler, Clinton’s pick to head the U.S. delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference May 8-June 2 in Turkey, and with other officials to develop a 3G spectrum strategy that today is in disarray.
The administration is not as keen as the wireless industry on achieving global 3G spectrum harmonization, something that would require new global frequency allocations at WRC-2000. The industry claims it needs an additional 160 megahertz by 2010 to provide broadband Internet services on wireless devices.
But the U.S. stance may be softening. The Federal Communications Commission several weeks ago reopened talks with the industry on 3G spectrum harmonization. The United States again signaled it may be warming to 3G spectrum harmonization during the two-week preparatory WRC-2000 conference in Geneva that just wrapped up.
But Rohde, a former aide to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who helped craft the 1996 telecom act, admitted it could be tough identifying more 3G spectrum because one of the prospective frequency bands is occupied by the Department of Defense.
The wireless industry sparred with the Pentagon this summer over a bill that would have given priority to DOD spectrum. The spectrum provision was watered down by the time the legislation passed.
“We’re in a tight spot on that,” said Rohde, noting the tough balance of trying to accommodate spectrum needs of popular wireless services and of national security in an environment where spectrum is scarce.
“The federal users-including the Defense Department-have become very threatened by the congressional mandates of ’93 and ’97 to take spectrum away and auction it off for private use,” he added.
Rohde said he believes the fireworks between the Senate Armed Services Committee and the industry during the summer occurred because DOD was trying to regain lost ground. Since 1993, Congress has required the transfer of more than 200 megahertz from the federal government to the private sector.
“We have a very unfortunate dynamic right now and that is industry feels frustrated in trying to access spectrum,” Rohde stated. “What we need to do at NTIA, what we’ll try to do-even though it will be very, very difficult-is to try to change that dynamic. [We’ll] try to have an open dialogue with industry and the federal users.”
In addition to shoring up spectrum management, including defusing tensions between government and nongovernment spectrum users, Rohde said he would stress innovation and consumer protection, and encourage widespread access of broadband digital services.
“We have to (be) faithful to our obligation to manage the spectrum in a way that preserves public safety and the national security. But at the same time, I believe we have a responsibility to the industry to find ways in which we can stimulate and encourage innovation in new technologies-particularly wireless technologies,” Rohde said.
Despite the availability of local residential telco competition and the proliferation of the Internet in the four years since telecom reform legislation was enacted, Rohde said he still believes the telecom act is working and has not become outdated.
