The federal government’s plans to free up spectrum resources to support the exploding wireless telecommunications space looks to be on track to meet its goal, according to a recent report from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration.
In its Fourth Interim Progress Report, NTIA noted that between the end of 2010 and September 2013, it had formally recommended or otherwise identified for potential reallocation up to 405 megahertz of spectrum to support wireless broadband use. The allocation is just short of the 500 megahertz earmarked by President Barak Obama in a June 2010 memorandum calling for up to 500 megahertz of new spectrum to be freed up by 2020.
In noting the work that has been done, NTIA cited spectrum sharing arrangements between federal agencies and commercial users in the 1.7 GHz band; its release of regulations to allow for financial assistance to move current federal users to new spectrum bands; spectrum sharing initiatives targeting the 5 GHz band; and developing plans for federal agencies to provide quantitative assessments of their spectrum usage and needs.
NTIA cited work conducted by the Federal Communications Commission in moving forward with rulemaking for 40 megahertz of spectrum in the AWS-4 band; 10 megahertz that were recently auctioned off in the H-Block; 70 megahertz of spectrum scheduled to be auctioned off later this year as part of the AWS-3 band; 100 megahertz of spectrum being set aside for small cell use in the 3.5 GHz band; and 295 megahertz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band.
NTIA also said it was making progress to meet a second memorandum ordered by President Obama in 2013, to free up more spectrum, with NTIA providing a plan for federal agencies to conduct quantitative assessments of their actual spectrum usage in 960 megahertz of additional spectrum.
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NTIA on track to meet Obama’s spectrum goals
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