Spectrum Management

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.

The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) advises the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at NTIA on a broad range of spectrum policy issues. The members are spectrum policy experts, appointed as "Special Government Employees," from outside the Federal government.

NTIA receives spectrum management and policy advice from Federal government experts through the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). The IRAC's basic function is to assist the Assistant Secretary in assigning frequencies to U.S. Government radio stations and in developing and executing policies, programs, procedures, and technical criteria pertaining to the allocation, management, and use of spectrum.

As part of NTIA’s's role managing the Federal Government’s use of radio-frequency spectrum, the Office of Spectrum Management (OSM) represents the spectrum-related interests of the Executive Branch, the federal agencies, and the United States as a whole, at regional and international spectrum policy-making forums.

As required by the Presidential Memorandum titled Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy, the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), prepared this National Spectrum Strategy to both promote private-sector innovation and further the missions of federal departments and agencies, submitting it to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Section 8.2.30 of the NTIA Manual addresses interference reporting. Agencies may report interference by submitting the attached electronic form.

This page provides a list of resources for the Public Access to Spectrum Management Process.

Welcome to the NTIA Frequency Band Hub, a centralized resource for accessing critical information and updates on various frequency bands managed by the NTIA.

In 2002, NTIA and the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to make additional spectrum available for commercial use. This spectrum, in the 1710-1755 MHz range, would be transferred from Federal government users and made available to the private sector through spectrum auctions conducted by the FCC.

On January 29, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) completed an auction of Advanced Wireless Service licenses in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands (collectively, the “AWS-3” bands).

Effective November 22, 2022, within the Cooperative Planning Area of Little Rock, Arkansas, the Department of Defense (DoD) requires coordination only in the lower 40 megahertz of the band (i.e., 3450-3490 MHz); coordination in the upper 60 megahertz (i.e., 3490-3550 MHz) in the Little Rock CPA is no longer required.

NTIA responds to the 3.5 GHz Band Notice for the purposes of: (1) proposing specific changes to the regulatory framework of the spectrum sharing model to effectively protect federal operations and maximize available spectrum available for commercial broadband; (2) outlining a phased implementation and approval process for commercial access to the 3.5 GHz Band; (3) designating smaller zones for the protection of federal systems based on new technical analysis; (4) addressing protection of commercial operations in the 3.5 GHz Band from federal radar systems; and (5) correcting the rules regarding an active protected federal radar site in the 3650-3700 MHz band.

NTIA manages the Federal government's use of spectrum, ensuring that America's domestic and international spectrum needs are met.

This page lists the Spectrum Engineering Reports

The class provides a basic level introduction to the federal government’s approach in providing the effective and efficient use of spectrum; spectrum management principles; spectrum management processes, procedures and techniques.

The NTIA Spectrum Policy Symposium provided an opportunity to hear from spectrum policy leaders in the White House, Congress, government and industry who are on the front lines of setting spectrum policy for the future.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal agencies, established a Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test-Bed (Test-Bed) pilot program to examine the feasibility of increased sharing between Federal and non-Federal users.

A printed version of the most recent version of the United States Frequency Allocations: The Radio Spectrum Chart (published in January 2016 from data as of September 2015) is available from the U. S. Government Publishing Office at a cost of $6.00 per copy

This page lists the past Spectrum Report Initiatives.