THEPRESIDENT’SSPECTRUMPOLICYINITIATIVESECONDANNUALPROGRESSREPORT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE CARLOS M. GUTIERREZ, SECRETARY JOHN M. R. KNEUER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FORCOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION October 2007 TABLE OFCONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..…....……………………………………………………..3 PROGRESS SUMMARY……………………………………………………………..5 I.Capital Planning and Investment Control Procedures…………………………..5II.Formal Assessment of Spectrum Needs: The Technical Planning Process……..7III.Strategic Spectrum Planning……………………………………………………….8IV.Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC)……………8V.Incentives Plan………………………………………………………………………8VI.Public Safety…………………………………………………………………………9VII.Efficiency Measures…………………………………………………………………10VIII.Advanced Information Technology………………………………………………...12IX.Reducing International Barriers to United States Technology…………………..12X.Unified Federal Response…………………………………………………………...13 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………13 Appendix A:Overview of Key NTIA Deliverables and Target Dates In this second year of the President’s Spectrum Policy Initiative (Presidential Initiative),Executive Branch agencies accelerated the advances necessary for spectrum management policy to keepstride with 21stCentury challenges. Their achievements span the breadth of the Federal Governmentand even reach beyond to embrace private sector and international reform initiatives. Agencies are charting a path of internal reform and external collaboration. Increasingly,agencies are realigning spectrum management functions to heighten their importance and to linkstrategic spectrum planning with overall strategic and capital planning in a more efficient way. Acrossthe Executive Branch, federal officials are focusing greater attention on spectrum requirements,streamlining internal processes and collaborating among themselves, with state and local entities, andwith the private sector, to meet their needs. All are participating in the “Working Level Groups” thatNTIA has created to fulfill the goals of the Presidential Initiative.These advances mark significantmilestones in pursuing a unified federal effort to meet the challenges of thePresident’s Initiative. Some agencies report achievements that serve as examples for other agencies. The NationalTelecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) are automating regulatory processes. The United States Patent and TrademarkOffice (USPTO) has switched to all-commercial services. As the Department of Defense (DOD) movestoward net-centricity, it will use technological advances to assure dynamic access and communications-on-the-move. Agencies are increasing their use of unlicensed devices. Further examples include: ●Agencies are evolving their management structures to integrate spectrum, information technology, andstrategic and capital planning into a comprehensive process that recognizes the importance of spectrumto national defense, homeland security, and other critical missions, as well as to the United Stateseconomy as a whole. ●The Executive Branch is taking a fresh look at its use of radio frequencies. Agencies used thestrategic spectrum plans formulated under the Presidential Initiative to take an inclusive approach totheir current and future spectrum needs. The result is that agencies are factoring alternatives such as theuse of commercial systems and partnerships into spectrum requirements planning. ●Agencies are venturing into innovative projects to make their use of spectrum more effective andefficient. The Department of Energy (DOE) is exploring a telecommunications partnership with utilitycompanies that would capitalize on the synergies of the already-interconnected power transmission grid.The Department of Justice (DOJ) is developing a shared network with other agency participants. TheDepartment of Agriculture (USDA), together with other agencies, is leading a federal initiative tooptimize the Federal Government’s use of commercial wireless services. This project will reduce costand improve quality of commercial wireless assets through a multiple-agency, blanket purchaseagreement. ●DOD is transforming its spectrum management capabilities to support requirements such ascommunications-on the-move. When validated and mature, these capabilities will permit assured,on-demand access to spectrum anytime, anywhere. ●NTIA and the FCC are partnering to automate and streamline the frequency authorization andcoordination process. ●NTIA inaugurated the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), givingNTIA the benefit of private-sector innovation and expertise, as well as facilitating understandingbetween commercial and federal users. ●NTIA selected the Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN) to test the operational and cost-effectiveness of sharing among federal, state and/or local governments and other non-federal users. Inaddition, USDA and Interior are exploring the formation of an inter-governmenta