Subject: [NEXTEL-1] CHAIRMAN POWELL AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY VICTORY MEET TO PLAN AND COORDINATE SPECTRUM POLICY

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 16:37:50 -0500

Federal Communications Commission
445 12 th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20554

December 10, 2002

CHAIRMAN POWELL AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY VICTORY MEET TO PLAN AND COORDINATE SPECTRUM
POLICY

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael K. Powell and Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Nancy J. Victory today met
formally to plan and coordinate the efforts of the FCC and the National Telecommunications
and
Information Administration (NTIA) to improve U.S. spectrum policy. The meeting included
senior spectrum policy teams from both organizations. Its purpose was to institutionalize
and
elevate the coordination between the two agencies beyond historical levels, given the
importance
of spectrum management to the country.

Spectrum users and industry participants in last spring’s NTIA Spectrum Summit and
public forums hosted by the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force emphasized the need for the
FCC and NTIA to work together to develop spectrum policy for an era of technological
convergence. As an immediate step to address this concern, the FCC and the NTIA announced
today that in the near future they will execute a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
detailing the terms of their interaction. Since the execution of the original MOU in the
1940’s,
the FCC and the NTIA’s predecessor have managed spectrum without updating that document.
In today’s meeting, FCC and NTIA explored areas of common focus and priority in their
efforts
to maximize the value of a critical national asset. The discussion included:

• The existing process for coordinating government and commercial use of the spectrum;

• A mutual interest in fostering intensive use of the spectrum while diminishing the
potential for harmful interference to existing spectrum users and new entrants;

• Emerging technologies with potential for addressing a variety of spectrum access and
interference concerns;

• The issue of alternative licensing regimes and the success of the unlicensed model in
promoting innovation;

• Strengths and weaknesses of various licensing models, and the factors that should be
weighed when considering adoption of particular licensing regimes, with a particular
focus on sharing best practices to speed reform.

Both Chairman Powell and Assistant Secretary Victory acknowledged that progress in
spectrum reform will only come through a sound technical foundation.
“The pace of development in spectrum-based services is such that remarkable breakthroughs
quickly seem mundane,” said Chairman Powell. “Our spectrum policies need to reflect this
dynamic marketplace and to be flexible enough to keep up with innovation. I am pleased
that
Assistant Secretary Victory has made spectrum policy one of her top priorities. NTIA and
the
FCC are essential partners on the frontier of spectrum policy reform and I look forward to

working closely with Assistant Secretary Victory on these important initiatives.”
“Spectrum is the rocket fuel for the next wave of technological innovation,” Assistant
Secretary Victory said. “New spectrum technologies are moving from science fiction to the
shelves of electronics stores and the cockpits of F-22 fighter jets. We need to boost the
growth
spectrum provides to our economy. The leadership of the FCC and the Administration are
focused on the common objective of maximizing the value of the spectrum resource to the
American people.”

Chairman Powell and Assistant Secretary Victory have agreed to schedule the next formal
spectrum leadership meeting in the early summer of 2003.
# # #

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-229354A1.pdf