Revised OMB Circular Underscores Importance of Spectrum Sharing
The Office of Management and Budget updated the spectrum parts of Circular A-11, to put more focus on spectrum decisions and the cost of spectrum. The circular provides the rules by which all agencies are expected to abide when they are making procurement decisions. The circular in part nudges federal agencies toward more sharing, consistent with the recent spectrum report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (http://xrl.us/bnnni2), government officials said this week.
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The key part of the circular is Section 31.12 (http://xrl.us/bnnm8q). Policy documents like the circular are important, though they're “incredibly arcane and obscure,” said a government official. The changes were required in part by the spectrum law signed by the president in February.
"To ensure the Federal Government demonstrates proper stewardship of the spectrum resource in its procurement decisions, and thus yield improvements in overall Federal spectrum management and use, agencies must include in the development of their budget justifications for procurement of major telecommunication, broadcast, radar, and similar systems consideration of the economic value of the spectrum being used,” the document said. “In some cases, greater investments in systems could enhance Federal spectrum efficiency (e.g., purchase of more expensive radios that use less bandwidth); in other cases, the desired service could be met through other forms of supply (e.g., private wireless services or use of land lines)."
Under the revised circular, in any request for proposal involving spectrum, agencies are now required to address “spectrum ‘efficiency’ factors (e.g., greater adjacent band compatibility, less use of bandwidth, etc.) and assess trade-offs between investment in equipment and spectrum requirements.” Agencies must also consider “whether the system will share spectrum with other Federal or non-Federal existing systems/operations and, if so, the nature and extent of the sharing relationship."
Agencies also must evaluate “whether sharing an existing Federal system to meet the capability requirement is possible, or whether sharing capabilities of similar Federal users has been considered” and consider when replacing systems whether the new system is more spectrum-efficient than the old. The circular requires agencies to obtain certification from the NTIA that radio frequencies required “can be made available” before submitting estimates to OMB for “the development or procurement of major radio spectrum-dependent communication-electronics systems (including all systems employing space satellite techniques).”