The White House’s National Spectrum Strategy, released on November 13, 2023, set an ambitious agenda to identify a pipeline of spectrum for study and modernization of U.S. spectrum policy. That Strategy, and an accompanying Presidential Memorandum, directed the Department of Commerce and NTIA to follow up with a public Implementation Plan that lays out schedules, responsible agencies, and milestones for the Strategy’s objectives.

Status as of today

NTIA solicited public input on the Implementation Plan process in a Federal Register notice with comments due January 2, 2024. Stakeholder outreach, plus NTIA’s own symposium on implementing the Strategy, have framed the near-term priorities and the practical constraints the Plan must address. As of this Policy Watch column the formal Implementation Plan itself had not been published; the Presidential Memorandum requires NTIA to publish an Implementation Plan within 120 days of the Strategy’s submission.

What will the Implementation Plan have to cover

Based on the Strategy and the Presidential Memorandum, the Implementation Plan will be a program-level roadmap. It must, at a minimum, (1) set timelines for detailed technical studies of the bands the Strategy identified for in-depth study; (2) name lead and contributing agencies for each objective; (3) describe measurable outcomes where feasible; and (4) align study schedules with the 2-year study target set in the memorandum or with the timelines enabled by appropriated funding and the Spectrum Pipeline Act. These are not optional items in the Plan; they are explicit requirements from the administration’s direction.

Bands and technical workstreams to watch

The Strategy identified roughly 2,786 megahertz of spectrum for in-depth study across multiple candidate bands and emphasized more than 1,600 megahertz of midband spectrum. That midband emphasis means particular attention will fall on the Lower 3 GHz range and related midband blocks that are valuable for mobile broadband. The Strategy also highlights other candidate areas for study and repurposing. Expect the Implementation Plan to break the work into band study groups or interagency working groups that will perform the technical characterization, interference risk assessments, and cost/risk estimates for potential relocation, repacking, or shared-use models.

A specific technical item called out repeatedly in Strategy materials is an Advanced Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) demonstration targeted at the Lower 3 GHz band, specifically 3.1 to 3.45 GHz. That demonstration is intended to show dynamic sharing beyond existing CBRS-like models and to help create evidence for whether and how incumbents can co-exist with new mobile uses. Expect the Implementation Plan to describe the scope, partners, and technical milestones for that demonstration.

Interagency coordination and governance

The Presidential Memorandum establishes roles and a timeline for new interagency structures to support implementation, including an Interagency Spectrum Advisory Council to advise NTIA and direction for NTIA to work closely with the FCC. The Implementation Plan will need to show how those governance mechanisms will be used for decisions about repurposing, sharing, and long-term planning. In practice that means the Plan should identify who leads each band study, how public input will be incorporated, and how classified agency mission constraints will be reconciled with the transparency needed for commercial planning.

Tactical constraints and friction points NTIA must manage

From a technical and programmatic perspective the Implementation Plan must confront several hard realities:

  • Incumbent federal operations, especially DoD radars and airborne systems, have dispersed and mission-critical footprints that are often not simple to reassign or compress without hardware, software, and operational impacts. Any schedule that assumes rapid repacking or relocation will need concrete cost and capability mitigation plans. (This is a recurring theme in stakeholder feedback and in symposium discussions.)

  • Defining harmful interference in ways that are measurable, testable, and mutually acceptable to commercial and federal users will be central. Without well-defined interference metrics the band studies and any sharing frameworks will stall.

  • Security constraints limit how much operational data some agencies can share. NTIA will have to balance classified mission needs against the data transparency the private sector needs to design equipment and deployment plans.

  • Funding. Some studies can be done under existing authorities; others will require appropriations or use of the Spectrum Pipeline Act. The Implementation Plan should be explicit about funding paths and dependencies so stakeholders can judge feasibility against timelines.

What stakeholders should watch for when the Plan is published

1) Study timelines and milestones. Look for start and end dates for each band study and whether those dates are contingent on funding. The Presidential Memorandum requires study schedules and a 2-year target for detailed studies; the Plan must translate that into program schedules.

2) Named leads and contributors. A concrete list of agency leads, plus how NTIA will use advisory committees or working groups, is the mechanism that will determine how quickly technical questions get resolved. Expect to see references to CSMAC, IRAC, or the newly chartered Council.

3) Public transparency and data. Will NTIA release test plans, measurement data, and interference assessments so vendors and operators can plan? Or will most of the heavy lifting happen behind closed doors because of national security considerations? The Plan’s answer will shape industry timelines.

4) The scope of the Advanced DSS demonstration. If the Plan includes a clear demonstration timeline and evaluation criteria for Lower 3 GHz DSS, equipment vendors and operators will be able to invest with more confidence.

Practical next steps for engineers, EW practitioners, and planners

  • Monitor NTIA and Federal Register channels for publication of the Implementation Plan and for subsequent Notices of Inquiry or requests for comment. The request for input that closed January 2, 2024 set the table for the Plan; the Plan will be followed by band study notices and technical working groups.

  • Prepare technical submissions now. Vendors and labs should be ready to submit measured interference characterization, coexistence test methods, and use-case-specific risk assessments when band study working groups form.

  • For EW and spectrum operations practitioners: focus on rigorous measurement frameworks. Objective, repeatable metrics for interference and receiver performance will be the currency of these studies.

  • Legal and procurement teams should map potential funding pathways if studies or equipment changes will require appropriations or new contracts.

Bottom line

The NTIA Implementation Plan is the operational moment for the National Spectrum Strategy. It must convert high-level objectives into actionable schedules, named responsibilities, and technical milestones. The Plan will not eliminate the hard tradeoffs between mission assurance for federal incumbents and faster commercial access to midband spectrum. But if the Plan is specific on timelines, funding paths, and measurable technical milestones such as a Lower 3 GHz DSS demonstration, it will give industry and agencies the footing they need to move from abstract targets to real deployments. Watch the Plan for concrete schedules, not just policy prose; that is where the rubber meets the airwaves.