The new administration of President Donald Trump will face significant challenges regarding spectrum sharing and allocation in the United States.
On 20th January, Brendan Carr took up his new role as chair of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Mr. Carr will have a full workload: A February report by telelcoms.com noted that the forthcoming AWS-6 frequency auction should occur by mid-2026. The auction is required by law to raise funds for the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Reimbursement Programme. According to the FCC, this initiative partially reimburses some communications providers. These providers are replacing network infrastructure from the People’s Republic of China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corporation. The report continued that the auction would focus on additional C-band (two to four gigahertz) spectrum. An FCC auction in 2021 released 280 megahertz of C-band spectrum for fifth generation (5G) cellular services. Funds raised by the AWS-6 auction will be used for this reimbursement.
Beginnings
The auction, and freeing up spectrum for 5G, is just one challenge on Mr. Carr’s desk; others are waiting in the wings, according to the National Spectrum Consortium (NSC). For those not familiar with this organisation’s work, it was established in 2015. The consortium is a non-profit organisation “focused on advanced wireless technology development in the US”, according to Mari Silbey, the NSC’s chief programme officer. Ms. Silbey states the consortium supports research and development, and prototyping efforts, to solve spectrum challenges “that cut across multiple industry sectors, fields of research and government agency responsibilities.”
In 2015, the NSC was awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) by the US government; more details on the workings of OTAs can be found here. The $1.5 billion contracting vehicle was sponsored by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defence for Research and Engineering (OUSDRE) “to accelerate research into spectrum-related technologies and help improve and advance Department of Defence (DOD) systems that use wireless spectrum,” Ms. Silbey continues. The consortium now has over 300 member organisations drawn from across industry and academe working with the OUSDRE. The NSC responds to “competitive solicitations and awards prototype contracts to consortium members pre-qualified to do business with the government,” she adds.
Beyond the work of the NSC in facilitating these prototype contract awards the organisation acts as a channel between federal and non-federal stakeholders on spectrum use and sharing issues. To this end, the consortium hosts technical working groups involving civilian, military and federal stakeholders. These working groups are tasked with “studying spectrum management challenges and raising potential solutions that can be prototyped.” For example, in December 2024, the NSC published a DOD solicitation to develop dynamic spectrum sharing technology for the 3.1GHz to 3.45GHz waveband.
Sharing the Spectrum
As shown by the global onward march of 5G, spectrum demand shows little sign of abating. At the same time, the spectrum is a finite resource, making it vital that allocation is performed fairly: “Wireless carriers need access to more spectrum to improve wireless communications services, create new economic opportunities, and compete on the global stage,” Ms. Silbey emphasises. Meanwhile, “(f)ederal stakeholders need spectrum to meet mission objectives including the defence of the nation, public safety, space exploration, weather forecasting and more.”
Auctioning spectrum brings its own challenges: “Some stakeholders would like to use future auction funds to offset other government spending,” Ms. Silbey says, “(o)thers argue that the relocation of federal spectrum incumbents from certain bands to enable an auction would not only endanger mission objectives but would be expensive.” Spectrum sharing is a promising solution but has its own challenges: “When each side brings competing facts to the table about the viability of different spectrum sharing approaches, it is difficult to assess which potential pathways are realistic and should be pursued.” The work of the NSC in facilitating prototyping, and research and development, “allows federal partners to fund demonstration projects that can help establish the viability of different spectrum sharing solutions.”
Ms. Silbey believes these challenges can be surmounted with “continued frank and technical information exchange between federal and non-federal stakeholders … (to enable) … discussion of classified information in secure, controlled settings when necessary.” In addition, “applied research and prototyping of new solutions are key because a number of technical solutions for spectrum sharing currently exist but require testing at scale to build confidence in their applicability and reliability.” Ultimately, Ms. Silbey argues that “(i)nstead of provoking extended political and legal fights that may damage national defence and/or lead to missed economic opportunities, we need federal funding and leadership to enable practical spectrum sharing research and development.”
by Dr. Thomas Withington
