Publications

Public Law 106-553, The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to consult with other federal agencies and departments responsible for regulating the core operations of entities engaged in the provision of energy, water, and railroad services and to report to Congress no later than one year after the Act’s enactment on the current and future use of spectrum by these entities to protect and maintain the Nation’s critical infrastructure.

NTIA reviewed the information collected through comments, reports, and other sources of information. NTIA presents its findings in this report based upon such data. NTIA found that providers of energy, water and railroad services submitting comments for this report had concerns regarding their current and future spectrum requirements. In addition, federal agencies who regulate the core operations of these industries (or some aspect of those operations) generally concur with comments by the industry and its representative trade organizations.

This NTIA document summarizes the findings of NTIA, the FCC’s 3G Working Group, the DOD, and other members of the Intra-Government 3G Planning Group (IG3GPG).  The IG3GPG assessed the 1710-1770 MHz and the 2110-2170 MHz bands to determine if those bands present viable options for accommodating advanced mobile wireless systems.  The 1710-1770 MHz band is used by a number of Federal agencies for fixed microwave systems, airborne and land mobile systems, satellite command and control operations, radio astronomy, weapon control systems, and video surveillance systems.  The 2110-2170 MHz band includes common carrier, multi-point distribution, paging, radiotelephone, local TV transmission, and private point-to-point service licensees.  The 2110-2170 MHz band is also allocated to the mobile satellite service downlink.  During earlier efforts, these particular bands had been identified as offering the greatest potential for additional spectrum for advanced mobile wireless services.

NTIA Report on calendar year 2002 programs, initiatives and accomplishments, as required by the Public Telecommunications Financing Act, Pub. L.No.95-567, §402, 92 Stat. 2405, 2424 (1978).