NTIA Applauds CSMAC’s Work to Make More Spectrum Available for Commercial Use

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) applauded the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) for its ground breaking work to explore spectrum sharing arrangements between federal agencies and private industry.

CSMAC, made up of a diverse group of private sector spectrum experts, has been overseeing five working groups that have been working collaboratively with federal government representatives for over a year to develop recommendations to facilitate the transition of as much as 110 megahertz of spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands from federal use to commercial broadband. Given the exploding demand for spectrum, NTIA has proposed spectrum sharing as a new path forward for repurposing spectrum that meets the needs of both industry and federal users. In April, NTIA transmitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the first two CSMAC reports containing the recommendations developed by the first two working groups organized around spectrum bands used for meteorological-satellite, law enforcement video, explosive ordnance disposal, and other short distance links. The new reports will also be sent to the FCC for inclusion in the record of its pending rulemaking for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3).