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500 MHz Initiative

A 2010 Presidential Memorandum directed the Secretary of Commerce, working through NTIA, to collaborate with the Federal Communications Commission to make available a total of 500 megahertz of Federal and nonfederal spectrum over the next 10 years for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use.

This initiative, to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum, will spur investment, economic growth, and job creation while supporting the growing demand by consumers and businesses for wireless broadband services.
 

Related content


NTIA Releases Interim Progress Report on Administration’s Plan to Free Up More Spectrum

June 5, 2014

NTIA today released the Fourth Interim Progress Report on the Obama Administration’s initiative to identify and make available 500 megahertz of federal and non-federal spectrum for commercial wireless broadband use by 2020. This report also includes a plan for federal agencies to conduct quantitative assessments of their actual spectrum usage in 960 megahertz of additional spectrum, as directed in President Obama’s June 2013 Memorandum.

America’s future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend on access to radio spectrum – the lifeblood of smartphones, tablets, and other data-hungry wireless devices.  That is why President Obama’s June 2010 Memorandum set a bold goal of nearly doubling the amount of spectrum available for commercial use by the end of this decade. Between October 2010 and September 2013, NTIA formally recommended or otherwise identified for potential reallocation up to 405 megahertz of spectrum.

Fourth Interim Progress Report on the Ten-Year Plan and Timetable

June 05, 2014

NTIA releases this Progress Report pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum issued on June 28, 2010, which directed the Department of Commerce, working through NTIA and in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to identify and make available 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next ten years for expanded wireless broadband use.  This report includes the plan for federal agencies to provide quantitative assessments of their usage of spectrum in selected frequency bands in accordance with the Presidential Memorandum issued on June 14, 2013.

Notice of Estimated Relocation or Sharing Costs and Timelines for the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz Bands

May 19, 2014

On May 13, 2014, NTIA sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on behalf of eligible federal agencies, providing notification of the initial estimated relocation and sharing costs and the estimated timelines for the 1695-1710 MHz and the 1755-1780 MHz spectrum bands. The total estimated relocation and sharing costs for the 1695-1710 MHz band are approximately $527.1 Million.  The total estimated relocation or sharing costs for the 1755-1780 MHz band are approximately $4.576 Billion.

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