By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-11-20
The Trump Administration is making 100 MHz of midband spectrum available for FCC auction by December 2021, according to the White House, and use by commercial 5G providers at full power ASAP, at least on the government timeline.
The move was billed as strengthening U.S. leadership in 5G.
White House and DOD officials said Monday (Aug. 10) that they had identified spectrum between 3450 and 3550 GHz currently used by DOD for key radar applications, that could be freed up quickly for sharing with commercial 5G without sacrificing national security or military uses, specifically critical radar for air defense, missile and gun control, battlefield weapon locations, air traffic control, and more.
The Administration will work with industry on the sharing regime, which will require ongoing coordination.