The Biden Administration’s National Spectrum Strategy, released by NTIA on November 13, 2023, is a high level blueprint that will shape U.S. spectrum policy for the next several years. It is explicitly focused on expanding spectrum access, accelerating dynamic spectrum sharing, and pushing federal and commercial stakeholders to coordinate more closely on midband resources. For readers who build, fly, or experiment with radio systems and drones, the Strategy signals both opportunities and obligations you need to factor into how you operate and design projects.

What the Strategy actually says and why it matters

NTIA frames the Strategy as a whole of government effort to modernize spectrum policy and to identify a pipeline of candidate bands for study and potential repurposing. The paper calls out a near term study pool totaling roughly 2,786 megahertz of spectrum across several bands, and it elevates dynamic sharing demonstrations and a national testbed as priorities for demonstrating new technologies and operational concepts. It also recognizes the FCC as the primary regulator of nonfederal uses and NTIA as steward for federal spectrum assignments.

Key near term focus areas that affect hobbyists

  • Midband spectrum and lower 3 GHz. The Strategy highlights large amounts of midband spectrum as a top priority because the commercial wireless industry prizes that range for coverage and capacity. NTIA and Commerce point to the lower 3 GHz range as a target for advanced dynamic spectrum sharing demonstrations. That matters because parts of this region overlap or sit near services and experimental allocations that DIYers and researchers sometimes monitor or work around.

  • Identified bands for study. NTIA identified specific candidate bands for in depth study, including ranges around 3.1 to 3.45 GHz and other midband and higher frequency ranges. The Strategy is intended to produce more focused processes that could lead to reallocation, sharing regimes, or testbeds. If you maintain local experimental systems, expect potential changes in long term availability and new sharing rules that will matter for transmitter planning and for passive sensing work.

  • A push for dynamic sharing, testbeds and AI enabled management. The document encourages field demonstrations and national scale testbeds for advanced dynamic spectrum sharing and for applying emerging tools such as machine learning to spectrum management. That will create opportunities for controlled experiments and for community partnerships, but it will also create environments with greater monitoring and formal data collection requirements.

Practical implications for EW hobbyists and experimenters

1) Monitoring and passive work becomes more valuable and lower risk

As regulators and agencies study bands and field test sharing mechanisms, there will be more publicly available data and possibly formal testbeds where passive monitoring is encouraged. If you are an RF hobbyist, prioritize spectrum monitoring and signal analysis that does not transmit. Passive work avoids regulatory risk and can be a practical contribution to local spectrum understanding and to documenting interference. NTIA is explicitly pushing for better measurement and study, which can align with responsibly run passive projects.

2) Expect more structured sharing experiments rather than wholesale, immediate access

The Strategy emphasizes demonstration and study before reallocation. That means spectrum access changes will typically come through coordinated pilots, defined testbeds, or auctions and rulemakings conducted by the FCC. Hobbyists who expect to suddenly get open access to previously busy midband spectrum should temper those expectations. Work with formal experimental licenses, partnerships with academic testbeds, or community spectrum programs when you need to transmit in bands under evaluation.

3) Compliance risk and enforcement will remain real and may increase

The paper makes clear that NTIA and the Administration will pursue policy and technical routes to protect incumbent and mission critical users. For hobbyists that means the tolerance for unintentional harmful interference to federal or commercial services will be low. Use certified equipment when required, keep transmitter power modest, and avoid attempting to block or jam signals. The Strategy increases the focus on protecting services, not on enabling amateur disruptions.

4) New testbeds are an entry point for legitimate RF experiments

The Administration is pushing for national scale testbeds and demonstrations of advanced dynamic spectrum sharing technologies. These testbeds will be the safest environment to trial agile radios, sensing plus access control systems, and coordination schemes that use automation or AI. If you want to prototype adaptive EW or drone-spectrum interaction concepts, seek collaboration with universities, industry consortia, or public testbeds rather than attempting unsanctioned experiments on live public airwaves.

5) Band specific effects to watch

NTIA has called out a set of candidate ranges for study. Those include lower 3 GHz slices and additional midband and higher bands that could be repurposed or opened for intensified commercial use. Pay attention to local notices about experiments or sharing trials near those frequencies and plan your projects around them. Public rulemaking will be the path to long term changes.

Tactical advice for staying safe, legal, and technically relevant

  • Prefer passive collection. Use spectrum analyzers, SDRs in receive mode, and logging systems to build situational awareness. Passive collection helps you learn without creating interference risk.

  • Use proper authorizations. For transmitting experiments, use Part 5 experimental authorizations, Part 15 unlicensed devices when they apply, or amateur radio privileges if you hold an appropriate license. Do not improvise transmitters on protected bands. The Strategy does not change existing statutory roles or remove FCC authority.

  • Keep power low and duty cycles conservative. If your setup causes complaints, enforcement follows quickly. Low power and short transmissions reduce the chance of harmful interference to incumbents.

  • Document and isolate. Run experiments in RF shielded enclosures when possible. Keep reproducible test descriptions, timestamps, and spectrum captures. This helps resolve disputes and supports data sharing with researchers or regulators.

  • Engage constructively. NTIA solicited public input while drafting the Strategy and intends to implement it through coordination and rulemakings. Hobbyists and maker groups should pay attention to NTIA and FCC notices and consider filing comment or partnering with local universities to participate in sanctioned pilots.

What to watch next

Over the coming months regulators will move from Strategy to implementation planning. That planning will define timelines and mechanisms for demonstrations and for studying candidate bands. Watch NTIA and Commerce notices for opportunities to participate in testbeds and for FCC dockets that translate study results into specific sharing or reallocation proposals. For hobbyists interested in EW adjacent work, the near term window is better suited to measurement, software development, and partnering on sanctioned tests than to aggressive on air experimentation in newly targeted bands.

Bottom line

The National Spectrum Strategy is not a sudden opening for free range transmitting. It signals a serious push toward dynamic sharing, measurement, and testbeds. That will create useful opportunities for technically competent hobbyists to contribute through passive monitoring, tool development, and sanctioned testbed work. At the same time, it tightens the case for caution when transmitting. Stay legal, keep power down, document your experiments, and look for testbed partnerships. The new Strategy will reward thoughtful, collaborative work and will penalize careless interference to incumbent and mission critical users.