Spectrum for the Future Welcomes Unclassified Report on Mid-Band Spectrum Sharing
Washington, D.C. – Spectrum for the Future (SFTF) welcomed today’s release of an unclassified version of the Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing (EMBRSS) Feasibility Assessment Report. Spectrum for the Future has advocated for the release of this study to better inform the work laid out in the National Spectrum Strategy.
“Spectrum for the Future applauds the hard work done by the Biden Administration in producing this analysis, preparing it for public release, and granting our request for the unclassified findings to be made available to the public,” said Tamara Smith, spokesperson for Spectrum for the Future. “The report confirms what experts have been saying all along – dynamic spectrum sharing in the lower 3 GHz band can unleash U.S. innovation and commercial 5G uses without weakening national security, if the right interference mitigation techniques are applied. The findings of the study provide a path to make dynamic spectrum sharing a reality in this band.”
Among other findings, the report notes that proposals to remove the military from the 3 GHz band could “result in setting the DoD back several decades compared to near peer adversary nations, take decades, and result in significant finance costs, up to hundreds of billions of dollars.” In contrast, dynamic spectrum sharing with proven mitigation techniques could provide “the only potential means to maximize availability of spectrum for commercial operations when government systems are not active in the band.”
“As the Government Accountability Office recently acknowledged, there is no more usable greenfield spectrum, which makes co-existence the only feasible approach to opening more mid-band spectrum to commercial access. Legacy carriers pointing to China’s example are misrepresenting the facts to justify an exclusively licensed spectrum ‘pipeline,’ but those arguments are designed to hold back competition – not fuel a new era of U.S. wireless leadership. With dynamic spectrum sharing, as proven under the highly successful CBRS model, we can move quickly to deliver greater innovation, wide-ranging use cases, and more consumer choice. New information in this report reaffirms the viability of spectrum sharing and illuminates the path to success in the 3 GHz band that will advance the National Spectrum Strategy,” concluded Smith.
About Us: Spectrum for the Future represents a diverse coalition of innovators, anchor institutions, and technology companies who agree that an inclusive approach to wireless spectrum policy is essential to America’s future technology leadership, industrial might, and global competitiveness.