In case you missed it – Rob Lyman, retired Brigadier General of the U.S. Air Force, wrote a new column for Breaking Defense calling on Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to follow the military’s lead by embracing shared spectrum and rejecting an “exclusive, full-power licensing model rooted in the cell phone technologies of the 80s and 90s.” Brigadier Gen. (ret.) Lyman’s calls come amidst a push by the Big Three cell carriers efforts to gain exclusive control over additional portions of the spectrum, including those used by the military for missile defense and other critical applications. 

“National leaders don’t need to accept the false choice between exclusive, full-power licensing and military readiness. It’s a recipe for failure. Instead, we should build on proven models for shared spectrum that can preserve our national security while still maximizing the use of a scarce national resource, increase taxpayer revenue, and advance American businesses and technologies around the world,” wrote Brigadier Gen. Lyman (ret.). 

Brigadier Gen. (ret.) Rob Lyman served as Director for Command, Control, Communications and Cyber (C4) Systems and Deputy Director for Cyberspace Operations at USTRANSCOM.

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NEW THINKING NEEDED TO SAFEGUARD OUR SPECTRUM

Breaking Defense

By Retired Brigadier General Rob Lyman

March 4, 2025

If the Pentagon was asked to relocate its air bases, radar stations, missile silos, and other facilities to make room for wind farm developers, Congress would reject the idea out of hand. Such a massive disruption would threaten our national security and cost taxpayers untold billions of dollars — all to benefit a few.

Yet effectively the same debate is taking place over another kind of real estate: the radio spectrum bands set aside to carry the military’s wireless transmissions, including the frequencies needed and used today and in the future for radar, targeting, and command-and-control systems, and potentially for envisioned systems like hypersonic and ballistic missile defense.

Some in industry are again seeking to gain exclusive control over additional portions of the spectrum, including those used by the military, through spectrum auctions. Some in Congress are taking the proposal seriously.

Read Brigadier Gen. (ret.) Lyman’s full column in Breaking Defense.