Federal Operations in the 1755-1850 MHz Band: The Potential for Accommodating Third Generation Mobile Systems Interim Report

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is the Executive Branch agency principally responsible for developing and articulating domestic and international telecommunications policy. Accordingly, NTIA conducts studies and makes recommendations regarding telecommunications policies and presents Executive Branch views on telecommunications matters to the Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the public. NTIA also serves as manager of the Federal Government's use of the radio frequency spectrum. President Clinton signed an executive memorandum dated October 13, 2000, that stated the need and urgency for the United States to select radio frequency spectrum to satisfy the future needs of the citizens and businesses for mobile voice, high speed data, and Internet-accessible wireless capability; the guiding principles to be used for the development of third generation (3G) wireless systems; and the direction to the Federal agencies to carry out the selection of spectrum. The President directed the Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the FCC, to issue interim reports by November 15, 2000 describing the current spectrum uses and the potential for reallocating or sharing the bands identified at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2000 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC–2000) for 3G wireless systems. The FCC, in conjunction with NTIA, is expected to identify spectrum by July 2001, and auction licenses to competing applicants by September 30, 2002. In response to the President’s memorandum, this interim report provides an examination of Federal operations in the1755–1850 MHz band, and a discussion of the potential for accommodating 3G, advanced mobile telecommunications systems in the band.