The President's Spectrum Policy Initiative

Spectrum Management Reform: President Bush signed an executive memorandum on May 29, 2003 to begin an Administration initiative to reform radio spectrum policies. The goal is to better manage the Nation's airwaves, enhance homeland and economic security; increase benefits to consumers and ensure U.S. leadership in high-tech innovations. The President's memorandum established the Federal Government Spectrum Task Force, composed of representatives from a number of federal departments and agencies. In June 2004, following a series of public events and a public inquiry, NTIA issued two reports with recommendations to improve spectrum management. The Task Force released Report 1, and Report 2 included recommendations from state and local governments and private sector responders. On November 30, 2004, the President requested in an executive memorandum that the Department of Commerce submit a plan to implement the reports recommendations.

Market Incentives to Increase Efficiency

Spectrum is a limited natural resource for which there are many competing users and uses. Soaring demand for spectrum caused by new technologies and growth in wireless services has led to increasing competition for frequencies, sometimes between commercial providers and government agencies providing crucial public services. Market-based spectrum management employs the same tools used to allocate other resources by unleashing the value of the spectrum through a less centralized management process that creates economic incentives to encourage efficient use.

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted many market-based incentives, including auctions and greater flexibility to licensees, for non-government users.  

Report 1 and Report 2 of the President's Spectrum Policy Initiative each recommended that NTIA:

• Improve federal agencies’ processes and procedures to better consider the economic value of spectrum when investing in spectrum-dependent systems

• Identify and create incentives for efficiency, and specifically:
  
  
  • Develop and implement, with the agencies, a plan to use incentives to encourage efficient and effective spectrum use, including methods or models to determine spectrum value
    
    
  • Encourage Congress to enact incentive authorities
    
    
  • Use that authority to develop increased spectrum incentives, and
    
    
  • Examine, with the FCC, modifying spectrum rights to encourage efficiency

Project G of the NTIA’s Implementation Plan for the recommendations of the President’s initiative identified the following tasks, which have been assigned to OPAD:

Task G.3 – Develop a Plan to Identify and Implement Incentives for Improving Efficiency in Federal Agencies’ Spectrum Use

Task G.4 – Promote the Implementation of a Wide Range of Incentives to Improve the Efficiencies of Both Government and Private Sector Spectrum Use

NTIA identified a number of projects to identify and implement incentives in its: Plan to Identify and Implement Incentives that Promote More Efficient and Effective Use of Spectrum [ PDF ]

Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC)  The CSMAC provides NTIA expertise and advice on how to enable new technologies and services, including reforms that expedite the American public’s access to broadband services, public safety, digital television, and long-range spectrum planning. Its charter states that it will act as a liaison between the stakeholders represented by the membership and the federal government, and it also may provide a forum for discussing current and emerging issues in spectrum management, spectrum policy, reform and technology.  For more information, please visit the CSMAC Web Page.

Events and Conferences

• Improving Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives: NTIA sponsored a workshop on Improving Spectrum Management through Economic or Other Incentives on February 28 - March 1, 2006 at the National Academy of Sciences. The workshop elicited views and proposals regarding the use of economic or other incentives to increase spectrum management efficiency. Session topics included spectrum valuation, rights and secondary markets, sharing and fees
  Agenda [ -- HTML -- Acrobat PDF -- ]
  
  
• Public Events: As part of the spectrum initiative, NTIA organized a series of public events in Washington D.C. and Santa Clara, California.
  
  
• Wireless Innovations Showcase and Conference: In May 2003, NTIA, in cooperation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Communications and Information Policy (CIP), hosted a two-day Wireless Innovations Conference. The first day was a technology showcase organized by the FCC, attended by Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Ambassador Janice Obuchowski, FCC Chairman Michael Powell, and Assistant Secretary Nancy Victory among others. This showcase included live demonstrations of cutting edge wireless technologies and applications for policy makers and members of the public. The second day featured panel discussions among key policy makers, entrepreneurs, industry representatives, and experts from government and academia. Discussions centered on such topics as the current market for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services, security and privacy issues, spectrum and related issues, and international issues.
  
  
• NTIA Spectrum Summit: In April 2002, NTIA held a two-day Spectrum Summit in order to identify the best solutions to challenges posed by management of the nation's airwaves. In a number of open discussions, panelists and attendees addressed issues including spectrum allocation and efficiency, the spectrum requirements of new technologies, and regulatory processes. This summit represented a key step through which NTIA, the Federal Communications Commission and federal agencies began working together to make spectrum management processes more effective.

Speeches

• Intersection of Wireless and Broadband: Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information John M.R. Kneuer spoke on The Intersection of Wireless and Broadband: Administration Spectrum Policy at the Wireless Communications Association International 2006 annual conference in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2006.
  [ -- HTML -- MS PowerPoint -- Acrobat PDF -- ]
  
  
• Congressional Testimony on Wireless and Spectrum Management Reform: Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information John Kneuer testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on wireless telecommunications issues and spectrum management reform.
  Congressional Testimony [-- HTML -- MS Word -- Acrobat PDF -- ]

• Broadcast Ownership Rules: Ex Parte Letter to the FCC from Secretary Donald L. Evans in MM Docket No.02-277, "Review of the Commission's Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996."

• ENUM Forum Joint Letter: NTIA, the State Department and the Federal Communications Commission sent a joint letter to the ENUM Forum (.pdf file) supporting an industry-based mechanism for implementing ENUM in the U.S. (08-13-2003) [Press Release]
• International ENUM Policy: NTIA backs linkage of Internet addresses with telephone numbers in letter to State Department on U.S. implementation of ENUM. (02-12-2003)
• Communications Technologies Convergence Roundtable: NTIA hosted a roundtable on the convergence of communications technologies, including the Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) Protocol. (08-14-2002)
• International ENUM Protocol Roundtable: NTIA hosted a roundtable to discuss the Internet Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) ENUM Protocol and work undertaken by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Study Group 2. (12-18-2000)

• ENUM Country Code 1 LLC (www.enumllc.com).
• ENUM Forum: Work by the industry-led ENUM Forum on technical specifications and mechanisms to select a Tier 1 provider(s): www.enum-forum.org
• Internet Engineering Task Force's current proposed ENUM protocol, RFC 3761; IETF's ENUM Working Group
• International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) ENUM webpage containing current administrative developments, technical and policy tutorials, and proposed Interim Procedures allowing countries to opt into the global e164.arpa ENUM structure.
• Reséaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), designated to manage Tier 0 for global ENUM Implementation, including a list of those countries that have opted into the global ENUM structure.

• The New Universal Service: NTIA's Guide for Users. (1997)

• Revenues and Productivity (2002)

• Deployment of Broadband Networks and Advanced Telecommunications [Docket No. 011109273-1273-01] and Comments
  
  
• Broadband Forum: Meeting Annoucement, October 12, 2001. A full-day, moderated series of informal discussions with telecommunications stakeholders to gather information on broadband deployment in the United States.
  
  
• Broadband Forum: Agenda, October 12, 2001. A full-day, moderated series of informal discussions with telecommunications stakeholders to gather information on broadband deployment in the United States.

• NTIA Electronic Privacy
  
  
• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998



• Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (commonly known as Gramm-Leach-Bliley)



• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue medical privacy regulations)
  
  
• NTIA Technology Fair and Workshop, September 2000
  
  
• NTIA Joint Public Workshop with the Federal Trade Commission, November 1999, on "online profiling" (the practice of creating consumer profiles for targeted advertising by tracking consumer movements online)
  
  
• Network Advertising Initiative to develop self-regulatory guidelines
  
  
• NTIA conference on online privacy, June 1998
  
  
• NTIA request for comments on various aspects of Internet privacy, 1998
  
  
• Elements of Effective Self Regulation for Protection of Privacy, NTIA staff discussion paper, 1998

• Background Documents



• Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of Commerce and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)



• Cooperative Agreement Between the Department of Commerce and VeriSign (Network Solutions)



• InterNIC



• .us Domain Space



• .edu Domain Space
  
  
• IANA Functions Purchase Order