Access to a key natural resource is at a premium, and it’s not petroleum or lithium — it’s the radio frequency spectrum.

Radio frequencies are allocated to broadcasting, navigation (GPS) services and public safety networks, but the increasing demands of commercial wireless, especially 5G and Wi-Fi networks, as well as the greater needs of scientific, satellite and defense applications, among others, require paradigm shifts in the management of the radio spectrum and in coordination of research and development around it.

On Tuesday, April 11, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a listening session at the University of Notre Dame to garner broad input about future spectrum allocations. The listening session is open to the general public, to attend as well as to potentially speak, and will take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Patricia George Decio Theatre at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Local and state policymakers and regional industry leaders are especially encouraged to participate as speakers. Interested individuals and organizations may submit written comments via the Request for Comments link; instructions for requesting an opportunity to speak are available at the Listening Sessions link.

This listening session, and another held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 30, will inform the NTIA in the development of a National Spectrum Strategy, which will provide a long-term plan to meet both commercial and federal spectrum needs. Each listening session will be livestreamed on the NTIA’s website, and a recording and transcript of the session will be posted afterward.

The National Spectrum Strategy intends to address the current and future needs of spectrum-driven services, including:

• Fixed and mobile wireless broadband services;
• Next-generation satellite communications and other space-based systems;
• Advanced transportation technologies;
• Industrial and commercial applications, such as for manufacturing, agriculture and utilities;
• Wireless medical devices and telemedicine;
• Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities; and
• Critical government missions, such as national defense, safeguarding the national airspace, securing the nation’s critical infrastructure, climate monitoring and forecasting and other scientific endeavors.

More information can be found in this NTIA news release: NTIA seeks feedback on future airwaves for innovative technologies

Learn more about SpectrumX and the University of Notre Dame. 

Contact: Tiffanie Sammons, the University of Notre Dame’s logistics point of contact. She can be reached at tsammon1@nd.edu.

Originally published by Office of Public Affairs at publicaffairs.nd.edu on March 21, 2023.