NTIA, DOD look at sharing out federal spectrum for commercial 5G

The government announced plans to study the possibility of sharing or clearing a 100 megahertz swath of spectrum for high-speed mobile broadband.

David Redl, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Industry Administration, said in a Feb. 26 blog post that 100 MHz in the 3450-3550 MHz band, used by the Department of Defense for military radar, could be a key asset in expanding the U.S. broadband spectrum inventory.

Under the Spectrum Pipeline Act, passed in 2015 with the budget bill, agencies can seek funding for studies related to relinquishing or sharing spectrum for commercial use.

The engineering study announced by Redl will examine whether the spectrum can be shared for mobile broadband, "without harming critical government operations."

The Federal Communications Commission has already set rules for the adjacent 3550-3700 MHz mid-spectrum band for its planned Citizens Broadband Radio Service.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai hailed the move as "great news" for next-generation commercial wireless services. "Altogether, this could unleash a contiguous block of hundreds of megahertz of valuable spectrum for new technologies and services, including 5G," he said.

The news hit the same day Pai announced plans to tee up the 3.7 to 4.2 gigahertz band for terrestrial commercial use and to auction off spectrum in the 28 GHz and 24 GHz bands. Pai made those announcements in a speech at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.