WASHINGTON-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last week told lawmakers no decision has been reached on future military spectrum requirements, a response starkly at odds with top brass and one that comes as Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) moves closer to introducing legislation to force the Pentagon off the 1700 MHz band to make room for third-generation wireless systems.
“I’m not prepared to come to any conclusion,” Rumsfeld said in response to spectrum questions from Rep. George Nethercutt (R-Wash.) at a House appropriations subcommittee hearing last Monday. At the same time, Rumsfeld added: “The demand for spectrum has been growing exponentially in the military as it has in society generally.” By way of illustration, Rumsfeld said U.S. armed forces used 100 times more bandwidth in Kosovo than in the Persian Gulf War, despite the fact that the number of troops in the Balkans was 10 times fewer then in Desert Storm.
Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) also raised the issue of military spectrum requirements during the hearing, but elicited even less of a response from Rumsfeld.
Asked after the hearing to elaborate on the 3G spectrum controversy, Rumsfeld replied, “I answered that during my testimony. I’m a guy who tells the truth.” Until now, Rumsfeld has been silent in public about the issue.
Rumsfeld, who is under fire from some on Capitol Hill and at DoD about plans to overhaul the conventional military forces in a way that stresses missile and cyber attack defenses, intelligence, mobility and new technologies, said DoD’s spectrum fight with industry will be decided separately from the comprehensive review of the department (which includes spectrum needs) that is scheduled to be completed and sent to Congress in October.
Rumsfeld faces serious budget constraints in trying to overhaul the military, a stark reality that could make him open to industry’s offer to spend billions of dollars (via auction) to move DoD communications systems from the 1700 MHz band-one of three bands designated globally for 3G-to other yet-to-be-agreed-upon radio frequencies.
Under the law, DoD must be compensated by industry for any frequency relocation involving spectrum transferred from the Pentagon to the private sector. Since 1993, when Congress authorized auctions, DoD has had to surrender chunks of the 235 megahertz of federal government spectrum put in the commercial arena.
Seated next to Rumsfeld at the hearing was outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry Shelton, who said nothing about spectrum during the hearing, but had plenty to say about the subject in written testimony.
“I am concerned that further reallocation of frequency spectrum for commercial use, without comparable spectrum to execute DoD’s critical functions, will have a major impact on our ability to execute our missions,” stated Shelton. “Our success on the battlefield largely depends on our ability to use advanced communications technology to exchange vital information between decision-makers, commanders and deployed forces.”
Industry-drafted legislation, which would override the 1999 law requiring comparable spectrum for DoD as a condition for frequency relocation and that would direct the Commerce Department to give military spectrum to mobile-phone firms, is expected to be introduced in the House by Pickering within the next two weeks.
On Tuesday, Pickering and other House telecom subcommittee members plan to hold a hearing on the industry-defense spectrum brawl. The Senate communications subcommittee is considering holding a 3G spectrum hearing on July 31, the same day the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association holds an executive committee meeting. Because of the conflict and other factors, the Senate hearing likely will be pushed back to September.
Pickering is expected to introduce his 3G bill before the August congressional recess.
Shelton’s written testimony last week and several weeks ago made brief mention of the need to strike a balance between commercial needs and military requirements. While industry initially pointed to the statement as a signal DoD is open to compromise, there are now indications the reference to compromise in Shelton’s testimony and Rumsfeld’s refusal to take a firm position on spectrum-while top brass openly oppose industry efforts to obtain military spectrum-may be the result of political pressure from the White House.
In the Bush administration, the National Economic Council, National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget and others are immersed in negotiations with industry and government agencies on the 3G-miliary spectrum issue. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, lobbied heavily by industry, has been a catalyst for making the issue a priority in the administration.
On Friday, Evans sent Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell a letter giving the administration’s approval to delay a final decision on 3G spectrum allocation, which was to be made by July 31 under an executive memorandum issued last October by President Clinton. Powell had written Evans to say a delay would give decision makers more time to review various options.
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) wrote Powell earlier this month supporting an FCC delay, which could push back the date of the scheduled June 2002 auction of 3G licenses.
While the FCC ruling is on hold, the agency plans to initiate a new rule making that studies spectrum not previously considered for high-speed, Internet-enabled phone service.
Meanwhile, according to sources, additional details on an upcoming General Accounting Office report confirm that investigators found the Pentagon’s 1700 MHz study lacking in some respects, but also calling some of industry’s own technical assumptions into question.
However, according to sources, congressional auditors do not dispute DoD’s fundamental conclusions that cast doubt on spectrum sharing and that say relocating military communications systems to other frequencies will be expensive and timely, if it is possible at all. Sources said the GAO report, due out in the next week or so, highlights the dispute between the Pentagon and industry over 1700 MHz military satellite links.
Industry favors 1700 MHz over the 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands because it believes the former band will be widely used for 3G services throughout the world. The Pentagon argues other spectrum alternatives besides the 1700 MHz band have not been adequately examined, and points to the fact that Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless say they plan to begin offering 3G service later this year.
Sprint, Leap Wireless and Qualcomm Inc., the San Diego developer of CDMA technology that various carriers will adopt for 3G, have told policy-makers there is sufficient spectrum to roll out 3G services but that additional frequencies are needed to accommodate future growth.
Moreover, sources said the GAO report questions assumptions of both industry and DoD on the extent to which the military’s 1700 MHz can be made available for high-speed, Internet-enabled 3G mobile phones.
Elsewhere, the Federal Communications Commission last week granted eight applicants licenses to operate mobile satellite systems in the 2GHz band, but held back a small slice of satellite spectrum to address other potential uses, such as 3G.
On Capitol Hill, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to lift the spectrum cap that restricts mobile phone operators to 45 megahertz in any one market. Stearns said the cap hurts U.S. 3G competitiveness in the global market.
