Rumsfeld warns spectrum loss threatens national security

WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged the Senate leadership that any decision to transfer the military’s 1700 MHz band to the mobile-phone industry for third-generation wireless services not be made until comparable spectrum has been identified and made available to the Pentagon. The Aug. 27 letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) represents Rumsfeld’s first official position on the 3G spectrum controversy and appears to be a pre-emptive strike against industry-driven legislation Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) will introduce shortly.
Rumsfeld and outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry Shelton said in the letter to Daschle that “forced relocation will have serious consequences on our national security and increases the risk to military personnel.” Combined with the Federal Communications Commission’s intention to soon withdraw 2500 MHz as a prospective 3G band, the opposition from top Pentagon officials to surrendering the 1700 MHz band to industry without financial and technical compensation raises questions about whether mobile-phone firms will obtain any significant amount of additional spectrum for 3G.