US proposes bill to sell Pentagon's 3G spectrum

date: June 15, 2001

The US government will likely soon propose legislation that the government sell coveted airwave spectrum used by the military to wireless companies for 3G wireless services and use proceeds to pay to replace equipment for the Pentagon, said Chip Pickering (Rep.) of Mississippi.

He is leading the group and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association has proposed a working draft of a bill that is being sent to lawmakers, Defense officials and wireless companies.

The Defense Department has "to be guaranteed that they will get reimbursed and maintain their capabilities and what we've given them is that and a possibility to enhance their capability,'' said Steve Berry, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at CTIA.

The US government has been struggling to find suitable airwaves for 3G services.

Lawmakers are looking for "legislative options as we go down the road to find a solution'' to making more airwaves available for 3G services, Pickering said during a House Commerce subcommittee hearing on Thursday.

The FCC is poised to identify spectrum for 3G services next month, but the airwaves proposed are already being used by the Defense Department and another band is being used for video services at schools and health care centers.

CTIA earlier this month requested the FCC hold off on selecting the airwaves to give the administration and the agency more time to complete its analysis in the context of a broader spectrum management policy.

"The military needs the money for relocation; this is a way to get that done,'' said Rudy Baca, an analyst at the independent research firm the Precursor Group.

"I think this is a very strong effort, well-coordinated and has a strong likelihood of drawing interest,'' he said. ``This signals a sustained and reasonable effort on the part of the association to address the needs of the Defense Department.''

``We still stand by the timelines that we found in our study which would take us to 2010 to vacate to land-based systems and 2017 at the earliest to vacate for satellite systems,'' he said.

The Defense Department has in the past said it would cost between $2.2 billion to $4.5 billion to relocate from the desired spectrum which is currently used for combat training and tactical weapons systems.

The legislation would also guarantee that the Defense Department would get the necessary funds to fully fund the replacement of equipment that becomes unusable because of the spectrum shift.

Additionally, the proposal would have an escape clause for critical government systems that could not be moved within the timeframe outlined.

It would also require the FCC to ensure that the proceeds from the auction of the 3G airwaves at least equal the cost to relocate the government operations and prevent the auction from closing until that minimum price is reached, one source said.

On the legislative calendar, Senate hearings on such a proposal would most likely occur in late July, a congressional source said, leaving it unclear how the measure would move forward though it could be attached to an annual spending bill.

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