Below are the first three paragraphs and the concluding paragraph of FSF's Comments:
These comments are submitted by the Free State Foundation (FSF) to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Opportunity for Public Input (Notice) on the National Spectrum Strategy (Strategy) dated November 13, 2023. Simply put, the Strategy fails to tackle the difficult work necessary to rationally balance government and commercial demands for this high-value, limited resource. Consequently, while the headline – "this Strategy identifies five spectrum bands totaling 2,786 megahertz of spectrum for in-depth, near-term study to determine suitability for potential repurposing to address the nation's ever-evolving needs" (emphasis added) – at first glance may appear to represent real progress, the bottom line is that there is no guarantee that a single megahertz of that total will be repurposed. While making available sufficient unlicensed spectrum is an important objective, what is perhaps immediately concerning is the fact that the Strategy fails to identify sufficient mid-band spectrum that could be licensed on an exclusive basis, thereby jeopardizing our nation's ability to compete effectively in the global race to 5G.
It has been nearly ten months since NTIA requested comments from the public "on the development and implementation of a National Spectrum Strategy for the United States." In the interim, no new spectrum has been added to the pipeline – and Congress has failed to reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC or Commission) spectrum auction authority. All told, what was a pressing need in March 2023 is now a crisis.
Commercial applications demand more spectrum without further delay. Domestic mobile carriers require additional licensed capacity, particularly mid-band spectrum, to maintain their economically essential global leadership in the rollout of 5G. And even as substantial amounts of additional unlicensed spectrum have been made available in recent years, consumer demand for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed uses continues to explode. The Notice, and especially the "Memorandum on Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy" issued contemporaneously by the White House (Spectrum Policy Memorandum), arguably represent an incremental step forward to address these spectrum deficits. However, far bolder and more timely action is needed.
*****
The reality, however, is that NTIA must embrace the challenging work required to identify – and in fact repurpose – government-held spectrum that would better serve our nation's interests were it put to commercial use, whether on a licensed or unlicensed basis. And do so in a timely manner. The Spectrum Policy Memorandum issued by the White House, by establishing hard deadlines and clear processes to resolve interagency disputes, acknowledges the need for decisive action. Unfortunately, the Strategy itself may create the illusion of progress, while merely kicking the can further down the road.
A PDF of the complete set of Free State Foundation Comments, with footnotes, is here.
Posts
