III. Future Federal Operational and Spectrum Requirements

Federal Use of Commercial Radiocommunications Providers

General. The Federal Government places heavy reliance on the private sector in providing telecommunications service for its own use. This means that all functions normally associated with providing the service shall be performed by the private sector. These functions include design, engineering, system management and operation, maintenance, and logistical support.

Federal requirements for commercial wireless services have been described by the Federal Wireless Policy Committee ⁽¹⁾ (FWPC) as part of the on-going review of Federal wireless telecommunications requirements. The FWPC notes that "The Federal Government is not a single enterprise purchaser of wireless communication goods and services. Acquisition is done by many agencies each trying to support their unique missions. However, there are certain common issues and needs, some of them government unique...." The future applications of commercial wireless will be used by not only Federal civil agencies, but also by the military, as shown by the document Joint Vision 2010. ⁽²⁾ Mobile-satellite services (MSS), as well as government-owned personal communications service (PCS) and wireless local area networks will be deployable with military warfighting units.

Functionally, Federal wireless systems will be generally characterized as Digital, Ubiquitous, Interoperable, Transparent, and Secure (DUITS). The Federal Wireless Users Forum has addressed this concept for several years. The DUITS concept will be implemented by a mix of wireless services, such as mobile satellite, PCS, wireless private branch exchange, enhanced specialized mobile radio, and cellular telephone.

It is assumed that the majority of wireless services used by Federal agencies will operate in non-government bands. However, it is anticipated that some networks may be shared between Federal and commercial owners, and might operate in non-government, shared, or government bands. Any sharing of such networks would require that the networks accommodate Federal priority access schemes, such as the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service.

It is expected that Federal agencies will look for the economies of scale that accrue to commercial service providers, and perform cost/benefit analyses to determine if commercial services will be more economical, assuming that the commercial service satisfies the operational requirements. There will also be a mix of licensed and unlicensed systems in the Federal inventory. Systems operating under the authorization of Annex K to the NTIA Manual will become more common, but will need to share with FCC Part 15 commercial/private systems.

Federal Spectrum Requirements for Government-Owned Systems

Within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Government, Federal Government use of the radio frequency spectrum for telecommunications is authorized only by the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information. In view of the limitations of the usable radio frequency spectrum, and to ensure the best possible return from that use, the Government in time of peace requires all Federal Government users to: a) justify any except an emergency request for radio frequencies prior to the assignment and use of these frequencies; b) confirm periodically the justification of continued use; c) employ up-to-date spectrum conserving techniques as a matter of normal procedure; and d) assure the ability to discontinue the functioning of any emitting radio system, including satellites, when required in the interest of communications efficiency and effectiveness. ⁽³⁾

Federal Government Current and Projected Spectrum Requirements

Mobile

The Federal mobile requirements include military tactical and non-tactical systems, flight test telemetry, land, maritime and aeronautical mobile for law enforcement, search and rescue, drug interdiction, emergency response, and in support of other Federal services.

Land Mobile. The Federal non-military land mobile requirements are generally accommodated in the 162-174 MHz and 406-420 MHz bands. Although these bands are primarily for Federal civil agencies, the Military Departments have allotments, and have begun a program of large-scale trunked operations. These systems are limited to non-tactical operations. The new allotment plans call for 12.5 kHz channel spacing and a mandatory move to narrow-band operation by the year 2005 for the 162-174 MHz band, and 2008 for the 406-420 MHz band. New frequency assignments in the bands generally reflect the narrowband usage along with 25 kHz authorizations.

However, equipment availability has been limited for narrowband trunking operations, and funding for replacement mobile systems is a perennial problem. Frequency assignments are becoming more difficult to obtain in the metropolitan areas as the population increases and Federal services grow to meet the demand. It is expected that future requirements for non-military land mobile operations can be satisfied in the current allocations, assuming that 12.5 kHz equipment becomes readily available. Growth rates for the bands are about five percent per year. The increasing Federal use of commercial providers serves to relieve some pressure from these bands.

DOD Mobile Requirements. Other DOD mobile operations, including aeronautical, maritime, and land tactical uses, are currently conducted in the 30-88 MHz, 138-144 MHz, 225-400 MHz, and other bands as shown in Section V. The DOD projects a requirement for an additional 115 MHz of spectrum by the year 2015. Key uses for these mobile systems include combat net radios (voice and data), situational awareness (position location and reporting), and battlefield personal communications systems.

Aeronautical Mobile. Aeronautical mobile communications are used by the Federal agencies, and are generally accommodated in the 2-23 MHz, 118-137 MHz, and 225-400 MHz bands. The NTIA Spectrum Requirements Study determined that 108 kHz of Aeronautical Mobile (R) spectrum was needed, an additional 30 kHz of Aeronautical Mobile (OR) spectrum, and an additional 100 kHz of Mobile allocations to support aeronautical operations were needed.

Flight Test Telemetry. Military and commercial aircraft flight testing use the 1435-1535 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz, and 2310-2390 MHz bands. There is a growing concern for the lack of spectrum to accommodate the future flight test telemetry operations. NASA, DOD and commercial aircraft manufacturers have large investments in aeronautical flight research and flight test programs. Emerging future requirements will place significantly larger demands on the spectrum used for flight test telemetry. High-resolution digital video and the testing of unmanned aerospace vehicles will increase the demand for spectrum beyond that which can be satisfied by current allocations. It is estimated that an additional 300 MHz will be needed for future flight testing.

Paging. Several Federal agencies satisfy paging requirements in the 162-174 MHz and 406-420 MHz land mobile bands. Manufacturers are reluctant, however, to provide systems capable of narrowband (12.5 kHz) operation. Moving the paging operations out of the land mobile band may be desirable.

Maritime mobile. The NTIA Spectrum Requirements Study concluded that between 36-60 kHz of additional HF spectrum was required for maritime mobile operations.

Fixed

All near-term Federal fixed service requirements can be satisfied under current spectrum allocations. The 42.5-43.5 GHz band, recently converted to exclusive Federal allocations, will serve as a primary band for terrestrial services to satisfy requirements that cannot be satisfied in the 37-38.6 GHz band. However, the DOD estimates that an additional 630 MHz of spectrum will be required for DOD fixed (point-to-point) systems by the year 2015. Key uses for these point-to-point systems will include area communications, data links, precision munitions, and common tactical picture.

Radio Astronomy

Most radio astronomy requirements can be satisfied under current spectrum allocations. However, the NTIA Spectrum Requirements Study concluded that 9.6 MHz of additional allocated spectrum was required. Some radio astronomy allocations were revised in the bands above 50 GHz to use bands that were more conducive for observations.

Radiolocation

Allocations for radiolocation are, in general, adequate for the near term. There may be unique applications, such as ultra-wideband systems, that cannot be accommodated by the current allocation structure. These systems will be authorized on a case-by-case basis. An NTIA report released May 2000 concluded the current allocations for radiolocation must remain intact for the next 20 years. However, research is continuing in such areas as detection of low observables, ballistic missile defense, and spaceborne systems that need spectrum in bands not presently allocated for radar. DOD projections of spectrum requirements include: 1) a heavy reliance but minimal growth in the low radar bands for critical DOD uses in space surveillance and warning, air defense, and detection of low observables; 2) a 35 percent growth in surveillance radar requirements for critical DOD uses in air surveillance and tracking, air traffic control, and air-to-air search; and 3) a 68 percent growth in radar requirements to support advanced weapons systems for critical DOD uses in missile defense, space-based radar, and target imaging.

Radionavigation

Global Positioning System. In January 1999,Vice President Gore announced a $400 million new initiative in the President's balanced budget that will modernize the GPS and will add two new civil signals to future GPS satellites, significantly enhancing the service provided to civil, commercial, and scientific users worldwide.

This initiative is only the most recent step in an ongoing public-private effort to make GPS more responsive to the needs of civilian users worldwide. National and regional GPS-based networks are now being created by governments and industry around the world to help guide everything from planes, trains, ships, and cars to tractors, snowplows, earthmovers, and mining equipment.

The second civil signal will be located at 1227.60 MHz along with the current military signal, and will be available for general use in non-safety-critical applications. The President's Budget supports implementing this new signal on the satellites scheduled for launch beginning in 2003.

Key to the overall modernization initiative was a recent decision on the frequency for a third civil signal that can meet the needs of critical safety-of-life applications such as civil aviation. The third civil signal will be located at 1176.45 MHz, within a portion of the spectrum that is allocated nationally and internationally for aeronautical radionavigation services, and will be implemented beginning with a satellite scheduled for launch in 2005. This initiative will cost $400 million over six years. The date that new services will be available to users will depend on the actual launch dates, orbiting sufficient numbers of satellites to provide useful services, and maintaining operational capabilities. Funding difficulties, however, may delay the implementation of additional GPS signals, and present obstacles to obtaining international recognition and protection of the new civil GPS signals.

Space Services

Space Operations. The DOD has been supporting commercial space launches in the 2200-2290 MHz band. With the increase in the number of these commercial space launches, additional frequencies are required. Three of the space operations frequencies set aside for government/non-government in the 2310-2390 MHz band were lost when the FCC auctioned licenses in a portion of the band. Additional spectrum is now required, but no agency is taking the lead to define requirements and identify spectrum for this purpose.

Space Sciences. Generally, spectrum for space research is adequate for the present. There may be a need for additional space research allocations in the future. However, spectrum for space operations is very congested at space launch facilities.

Fixed- and Mobile-Satellite. Federal use of Fixed- and Mobile-Satellite systems is heavy, and is projected to increase. The 42.5-43.5 GHz band has been recently made available for possible expansion of DOD space communications operations (uplink), shared with Federal terrestrial services. A new Federal requirement for 1 GHz of downlink spectrum below 50 GHz was recently identified. Because of the difficulty of sharing Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) and MSS operations with high-density fixed operations in the 39.5-40.0 GHz band, the United States gained allocations at the 2000 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-2000) for FSS in ITU Region 1, and MSS in Region 2 in the 40.5-41.0 GHz band. Federal allocations will be added to the 40.5-41.0 GHz band in the National Table. This now makes the 40-41 GHz band available for Fixed- and Mobile-Satellite operations. DOD projections conclude that: 1) an increase in spectrum requirements from 123 to 215 MHz for highly protected SATCOM systems for critical DOD uses in assured strategic and tactical connectivity, and 2) a many fold increase for wideband SATCOM for critical DOD uses in intelligence dissemination, imagery transmission, and high-speed data and networks.

1. The Federal Wireless Policy Committee (FWPC) is a multi-agency committee, chaired by NTIA, to develop policy on Federal use of wireless technologies. Information in this section was taken from the FWPC document Federal Functional Requirements for Commercial Wireless Services, Draft Revision 1.1 of March, 1999.

2. Joint Vision 2020 was recently published and builds on the foundation and maintains the momentum established with Joint Vision 2010. It confirms the direction of the ongoing DOD transformation, especially in the arena of communications operations.

3. National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management, §2.3.6, at 2-5 (Jan 2000).

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