TPI Fireside Chat with NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth Recap

In conversation with Technology Policy Institute's Scott Wallsten, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Arielle Roth admitted that the spectrum implementation puzzle is harder than the legislation suggested. Assistant Secretary Roth said that as a Senate staffer drafting the spectrum provisions, she had “more of an impatient approach to spectrum identification.” On the implementation side, she’s discovered that some federal systems slated for relocation don’t yet have specifications for their replacement equipment, that agencies face competing cost and timeline pressures that work against spectral efficiency, and that accessing Spectrum Relocation Fund dollars requires a 60-day mandatory congressional notification that can’t easily be waived.