It’s not every day that a meeting between two U.S. government leaders is notable, but when it comes to U.S. spectrum policy, that is indeed what’s happening.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson met on Tuesday to discuss spectrum policy efforts, the first of what they promise to be monthly coordination meetings between the two entities.
They also announced Wednesday that they’re launching a joint task force, which met this week to begin discussing the details of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies. It will mark the first time the MOU has been updated in nearly 20 years.
These developments are significant because a lot of folks blamed a “failure of communication,” including between the FCC and NTIA, for the havoc that resulted from the C-band auction, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and aviation industry officials challenged the FCC’s decision and authority. That was just one in a string of highly publicized clashes between government agencies, including those involving the 24 GHz and 5.9 GHz bands.
Last month, Rosenworcel and Davidson announced their initiative to improve U.S. government coordination on spectrum management, with the two agencies meeting regularly to hash out spectrum plans.
Among the topics discussed in Tuesday’s meeting were the national spectrum strategy, mid-band and millimeter wave spectrum to support next-generation commercial networks, and the FCC’s upcoming receiver standards Notice of Inquiry, according to a press release.
In a joint statement, Rosenworcel and Davidson acknowledged their respective roles.
“Our agencies have very compatible and complimentary roles in American spectrum policy making. Congress has been clear about NTIA’s statutory role as manager of the federal government’s use of spectrum and the FCC as the independent agency responsible for non-federal spectrum policy,” they said in the statement. “Our agencies have a long history of working together to ensure that spectrum policy decisions foster economic growth, ensure our national and homeland security, maintain U.S. global leadership, and advance other vital U.S. needs. That will only continue and grow as we build this new agreement.”
Davidson took the helm at NTIA in mid-January. Rosenworcel was nominated to her post by President Joe Biden in October 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in December 2021.
Still awaiting approval as the fifth FCC commissioner is Gigi Sohn, who led Public Knowledge and served as counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
Bloomberg reported this week that her nomination, stalled along party lines in the Senate Commerce Committee, could advance through methods similar to that of FTC commissioner nominee Alvaro Bedoya, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
Rosenworcel will appear today during a House subcommittee hearing on FCC oversight; it's her first testimony at the subcommittee as FCC chair.