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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) reintroduced the Simplifying Management, Access, Reallocation, and Transfer of Spectrum Act, or SMART Spectrum Act with Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07) to establish a tool to improve the coordination of shared spectrum and mitigate harmful interference for commercial and federal users.

“Spectrum plays a critical role in national security, weather monitoring, cellular service, and Americans’ favorite radio and television shows. As more innovative, wireless technologies come online and use our nation’s finite spectrum resource, our country simultaneously needs to be more innovative and efficient in managing this critical resource. I’m proud to reintroduce the SMART Spectrum Act to improve the management and utilization of federal spectrum, which would ultimately enable better connectivity. My bill creates a standardized information sharing system, which will give both federal and commercial users more opportunities to use federal spectrum,” said Guthrie.

“As the demand for spectrum continues to grow, it is crucial that we coordinate and maximize the use of our valuable spectrum resources,” said Matsui. “Promoting efficient spectrum usage is crucial to ensure that federal agencies, commercial users, and most importantly consumers, are able to fully utilize a resilient and reliable wireless ecosystem. The SMART Spectrum Act would provide important clarity to help us achieve these goals.” 

Background:

Spectrum is a fixed, finite resource used for telecommunication and managed by the federal government. Guthrie serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that manage spectrum. The federal government sets aside spectrum for public services and then auctions other spectrum frequencies to commercial users.

As wireless technologies continue to develop, the federal government needs to become more efficient with the spectrum set aside for public services. The SMART Spectrum Act increases opportunities for commercial and federal users to operate in underutilized spectrum licensed to the federal government by establishing an Incumbent Informing Capability system at the NTIA. This system would facilitate spectrum sharing between federal entities and between federal and non-federal users operating in federal spectrum. Users can use this system to share what time, where geographically, and in which band of electromagnetic spectrum the users are operating. This exchange of information allows federal and non-federal users to share spectrum that is not being fully utilized by the federal government and helps mitigate harmful interference.

The SMART Spectrum Act passed the House last Congress. Click HERE for bill text.

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