Spectrum Management: Agencies Should Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms and Processes to Address Potential Interference
Fast Facts
In the U.S., the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration regulate use of radio-frequency spectrum to help ensure there's enough available for 5G networks, satellites, and everything else. When there could be interference, FCC and NTIA coordinate with other federal agencies via interagency agreements and groups.
The agreements and groups use some key collaboration practices but not others. For example, there are no clear processes for resolving matters when agencies can't agree on issues.
We recommended that FCC and NTIA update and clarify various documents and processes to better coordinate on spectrum management.
Illustration of a Remote-Sensing Satellite
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regulate and manage spectrum, and other agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are among federal spectrum users. To address potential interference among proposed uses of spectrum, these agencies employ various coordination mechanisms. For domestic matters, the agencies coordinate through an NTIA-led committee that provides input to FCC's spectrum proceedings. For U.S. participation in the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC), agencies coordinate via a preparatory committee that provides input used to develop U.S. positions that the Department of State submits to a regional body or directly to the WRC (see figure).
Technical Coordination Process for U.S. Participation in WRC
These mechanisms reflect some key collaboration practices but do not fully reflect others. For example, while the documents that guide coordination between FCC and NTIA and the preparatory committee emphasize reaching consensus whenever possible, there are no clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for resolving matters when agencies cannot do so. Additionally, neither document has been updated in almost 20 years, though agency officials said conditions regarding spectrum management activities have changed in that time. GAO's review of U.S. participation in ITU's 2019 WRC shows that these issues affected collaboration. For example, disputes among the agencies and the inability to reach agreement on U.S. technical contributions challenged the U.S.'s ability to present an agreed-upon basis for decisions or a unified position.
NOAA and NASA conduct and FCC and NTIA review technical interference studies on a case-by-case basis. When originating from ITU activities, the agencies conduct or review technical interference studies through participation in international technical meetings and the preparatory committee process. However, the lack of consensus on study design and, within the U.S. process, specific procedures to guide the design of these types of studies, hampered U.S. efforts to prepare for the 2019 WRC. For example, the U.S. did not submit its studies on certain key issues to the final technical meeting, resulting in some stakeholders questioning whether the corresponding U.S. positions were technically rooted. Agreed-upon procedures could help guide U.S. efforts to design these studies and consider tradeoffs between what is desirable versus practical, to mitigate the possibility of protracted disagreements in the future.
Why GAO Did This Study
Spectrum is a scarce resource that supports vital services, such as mobile communications and Earth-observing satellites. In the U.S., FCC and NTIA regulate and manage nonfederal and federal spectrum use, respectively, while the ITU sets global regulations and hosts conferences to update them. Recent U.S. and ITU activities have sought to designate spectrum for possible 5G use and to study how to do so without causing harmful interference to other uses, particularly satellites like those operated by NOAA and NASA that contribute to weather forecasting and climate science.
GAO was asked to review how agencies coordinate on and study these matters. Among other objectives, this report examines: (1) the extent that cognizant federal agencies follow leading practices in collaborating on potential interference effects on weather forecasting and (2) their processes to conduct and review technical interference studies. GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials from FCC, NTIA, NOAA, and NASA; analyzed how various agency mechanisms and processes were implemented during recent FCC and ITU spectrum-management activities; and compared agencies' efforts to key collaboration practices and applicable key elements of a sound research process.
Recommendations
GAO is making 11 recommendations, including that FCC and NTIA collaborate to update or clarify various documents and processes related to spectrum-management coordination. The agencies generally agreed to implement the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Communications Commission | The Chair of FCC should establish clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies, particularly when consensus cannot be reached, in consultation with NTIA and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 1) | In June 2021, we reported that FCC's and NTIA's collaborative mechanisms and activities that we reviewed did not fully reflect leading collaboration practices identified in our prior work, including the practice of clarifying roles and responsibilities. Specifically, we found that FCC and NTIA did not have clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for resolving matters when they cannot reach consensus to make decisions where appropriate. Therefore, we recommended that FCC establish clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies, particularly when consensus cannot be reached, in consultation with NTIA and-as... appropriate-the State Department. In February 2022, FCC and NTIA announced the creation of the Spectrum Coordination Initiative, a joint effort to strengthen the processes for decision making and information sharing and to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues. According to agency documentation, the initiative includes reinstating high-level meetings between the Chair of FCC and Administrator of NTIA and mutual participation in the two agencies' technical advisory groups that include other federal agencies-both of which provide opportunity for better understanding agencies' positions, contributing to consensus decision making. Additionally, in November 2023, the White House, in collaboration with NTIA, issued a memorandum that called for the creation of a new advisory body, the Interagency Spectrum Advisory Council (Council) to support cooperation in reaching consensus among agencies and to serve as the principal interagency forum for heads of agencies to advise NTIA on spectrum policy matters. Specifically, the Council's charter notes that FCC is a member of the Council and includes a process for escalating and resolving disputes among federal agencies on the council when they cannot reach consensus. In September 2024, we confirmed with FCC officials that the agency's involvement in this initiative and Council constitute its efforts to establish clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies as called for in our recommendation. Having developed processes for how FCC will seek to achieve consensus with other agencies, in coordination with NTIA, will provide better assurance that disagreements can be amicably resolved and avoid lack of consensus in situations where a unified national position is desirable.
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| Federal Communications Commission | The Chair of FCC should clarify and further identify shared goals or outcomes for spectrum-management activities that involve collaboration and ways to monitor and track progress, in consultation with NTIA and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 2) | Spectrum is a scarce resource that supports vital services, such as mobile communications and Earth-observing satellites. In the U.S., FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regulate and manage nonfederal and federal spectrum use, respectively. The Department of State (State) formally leads the U.S. delegation at international conferences where global regulation of spectrum is considered, representing the policy positions coordinated, reconciled, and provided via FCC and NTIA. In June 2021, we reported on the extent that these agencies follow leading practices in collaborating on potential interference effects on weather forecasting. We found that...
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| Federal Communications Commission | The Chair of FCC should update the FCC-NTIA MOU to address identified gaps (such as the lack of clearly defined goals and agreed-upon processes for making decisions) and develop a means to continually monitor and update this agreement, in consultation with NTIA. (Recommendation 3) | Spectrum is a scarce resource that supports vital services, such as mobile communications and Earth-observing satellites. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce regulate and manage nonfederal and federal spectrum use, respectively. In June 2021, we reported on the extent that these agencies follow leading practices in collaborating on potential interference effects on weather forecasting. We found that the agencies' collaborative mechanisms and activities reviewed did not fully reflect leading collaboration practices, including the practice of developing written...
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| Federal Communications Commission | The Chair of FCC should request that State initiate a review of the General Guidance Document—in consultation with FCC, NTIA, and other relevant participants—and update and develop a means to continually monitor and update this document. (Recommendation 4) |
In a January 2022 letter, FCC affirmed its commitment to implement this recommendation. Although FCC has provided documentation of its request for the review, we have requested additional information from FCC about its plans to develop a means to continually monitor and update this document as also called for in our recommendation. We will continue to monitor FCC's efforts as it implements this recommendation.
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| Federal Communications Commission | The Chair of FCC should establish procedures to help guide the design (including selection of acceptable assumptions and methodologies) of spectrum-sharing and potential-interference studies intended as U.S. contributions to WRC technical meetings, in consultation with NTIA, State, and other federal participants of the U.S. technical preparatory process. (Recommendation 5) |
FCC agreed with this recommendation and has re-iterated its commitment to doing so. Previously, FCC officials told us that actions to implement this recommendation are in progress. As of February 2024, we are continuing to monitor FCC's actions to implement this recommendation in collaboration with NTIA. Establishing specific procedures for the design of spectrum-sharing and potential-interference studies intended as U.S. contributions to WRC technical meetings may help guide agencies' efforts to resolve disagreements like those experienced in the past.
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| National Telecommunications and Information Administration |
Priority Rec.
The NTIA Administrator should establish clearly defined and agreed-upon processes for making decisions on spectrum-management activities that involve other agencies, particularly when consensus cannot be reached, in consultation with FCC and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 6) |
Spectrum is a scarce resource that supports vital services, such as mobile communications and Earth-observing satellites. In the U.S., NTIA and FCC regulate and manage federal and nonfederal spectrum use, respectively. The Department of State (State) formally leads the U.S. delegation at international conferences where global regulation of spectrum is considered, representing the policy positions coordinated, reconciled, and provided via FCC and NTIA. In June 2021, we reported on the extent that these agencies follow leading practices in collaborating on potential interference effects on weather forecasting. We found that the agencies' collaborative mechanisms and activities reviewed did...
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| National Telecommunications and Information Administration |
Priority Rec.
The NTIA Administrator should clarify and further identify shared goals or outcomes for spectrum-management activities that involve collaboration and ways to monitor and track progress, in consultation with FCC and—as appropriate—State. (Recommendation 7) |
In 2023, the White House issued the National Spectrum Strategy, and in 2024, NTIA issued the National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan, both of which were created with the involvement of FCC. In particular, the implementation plan includes shared spectrum goals and describes the specific outcomes necessary to implement the strategy, with NTIA (as well as FCC) named as a lead agency or contributing stakeholder for a number of the planned objectives to achieve those outcomes. Furthermore, to monitor and track progress, we confirmed that NTIA staff (as well as FCC staff) use the Interagency Radio Advisory Committee to coordinate and track spectrum-related proceedings. NTIA chairs this...
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| National Telecommunications and Information Administration |
Priority Rec.
The NTIA Administrator should update the FCC-NTIA MOU to address identified gaps (such as the lack of clearly defined goals and agreed-upon processes for making decisions) and develop a means to continually monitor and update this agreement, in consultation with FCC. (Recommendation 8) |
Spectrum is a scarce resource that supports vital services, such as mobile communications and Earth-observing satellites. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce regulate and manage nonfederal and federal spectrum use, respectively. In June 2021, we reported on the extent that these agencies follow leading practices in collaborating on potential interference effects on weather forecasting. We found that the agencies' collaborative mechanisms and activities reviewed did not fully reflect leading collaboration practices, including the practice of developing written...
|
| National Telecommunications and Information Administration |
Priority Rec.
The NTIA Administrator should request that State initiate a review of the General Guidance Document—in consultation with NTIA, FCC, and other relevant participants—and update and develop a means to continually monitor and update this document. (Recommendation 9) |
NTIA agreed with this recommendation and has taken steps to implement it. In a February 2022 letter, the Department of Commerce said NTIA had requested that the Department of State initiate a review of the General Guidance Document and had provided input to State for updating it to address key issues such as transparency and collaboration. In March 2025, NTIA officials said that their formal request with State to update their General Guidance Document was underway and that they would provide further updates as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor NTIA's efforts as it implements this recommendation.
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| National Telecommunications and Information Administration |
Priority Rec.
The NTIA Administrator should establish procedures to help guide the design (including selection of acceptable assumptions and methodologies) of spectrum-sharing and potential-interference studies intended as U.S. contributions to WRC technical meetings, in consultation with FCC, State, and other federal participants of the U.S. technical preparatory process. (Recommendation 10) |
NTIA agreed with this recommendation and has taken steps to implement it. Specifically, in January 2024, NTIA officials said that work pursuant to the National Spectrum Strategy (issued November 2023) and the related National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan (issued March 2024) will address this recommendation. The strategy states, for example, that the U.S. Government will formalize its best practices for conducting technical, scientific, mission, and economic analyses in support of spectrum management decisions, to provide greater visibility into, and acceptance of, key studies, and to reduce contention and disputes of findings. In March 2025, NTIA officials said that work under...
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| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | The NOAA Administrator should clarify and document NOAA's internal processes for identifying and raising concerns about potential interference to NOAA satellite instruments. (Recommendation 11) | Recent U.S. activities have sought to designate spectrum for possible 5G use and to study how to do so without causing harmful interference to other uses. FCC has begun allocating spectrum that could be used for 5G wireless use. However, NOAA has raised concerns that if not managed properly, this use of spectrum could cause harmful interference with instruments on their satellites that contribute to weather forecasting and climate science. NTIA's spectrum advisory committee composed of federal spectrum users such as NOAA, is the main mechanism by which federal agencies coordinate on domestic spectrum-management activities, including providing comments to FCC when it is planning to...
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