WASHINGTON-The White House later today is expected to issue a presidential memorandum on spectrum reform for federal government frequencies, according to industry sources.
The Bush administration initiative appears to track the work of the spectrum task force at the Federal Communications Commission.
Increased demand for limited airwaves has forced policy-makers to focus more attention on spectrum policy and new technologies. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a unit of the Commerce Department, would oversee such a spectrum reform plan.
In some cases, increased spectrum requirements have led to nasty fights between government and non-government spectrum users. This was the case with the administration’s plan for the Pentagon to transfer 1700 MHz radio channels to the mobile-phone industry for third-generation wireless services. DoD and industry also knocked heads over efforts to move ultra-wideband and Wi-Fi technologies into the commercial marketplace.
