Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act Annual Progress Report for 2020

NTIA submits this report pursuant to Section 207 of the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA), Title II of Pub. L. 108-494, which requires annual reporting on federal agencies’ progress to relocate radio communications systems from spectrum or share spectrum that has been reallocated to commercial use. This report provides details on two separate spectrum auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that included: 1) the 1710 to 1755 megahertz (MHz) band, and 2) the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands. This report covers the period from January through December 2020.

As authorized by the CSEA, the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) provides a centralized and streamlined funding mechanism through which federal agencies can recover the costs associated with relocating their radio communications systems or sharing spectrum reallocated and authorized to be auctioned for commercial purposes. This report describes the progress the federal agencies have made in adhering to transition timelines. It also details, on a system-by-system basis, the costs estimated, funds transferred, and costs paid from the SRF. This report is based on data submitted by the federal agencies to NTIA.

Part I of this annual report documents the cumulative progress made by federal agencies to relocate operations out of the 1710-1755 MHz band from March 2007 through December 2020. It is the fourteenth annual progress report for the 1710-1755 MHz band.

Part II of this annual report contains the sixth annual progress report that documents the agencies’ activities to accommodate commercial use of the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands that were auctioned in 2014-2015. Part II contains slightly different information compared to Part I due to enactment of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96 (Tax Relief Act), that, among other things, modified the SRF provisions in the NTIA Organization Act. Notably, these modifications permit federal agencies to recover costs stemming from their action to enable spectrum to be shared or relocated based on an approved transition plan, as well as permit federal agencies to recover certain pre-auction costs, neither of which was permitted prior to the Tax Relief Act. Accordingly, Part II reflects transition costs, which include both relocation and sharing costs, as well as separate timelines associated with transitioning federal spectrum use and the expenditure of SRF funds. Part II documents the cumulative progress made by federal agencies to transition operations out of the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands from January 2015 through December 2020.