Matsui Urges 'Unified' Spectrum Approach Under Biden

over spectrum policy issues during President Donald Trump’s administration, and stakeholders hope that's reduced under Biden (see 2010260001). “These frequent, public conflicts encouraged a combative rather than collaborative posture among federal agencies and often necessitated congressional intervention,” Matsui wrote Biden. “This spectrum management approach is untenable. Non-federal users deserve the certainty needed for long-term strategic investments and, as federal stewards, agencies deserve the requisite resources to" fulfill their mandates. "More intensive use of federal spectrum will be necessary” and “require new coexistence and sharing techniques that have the potential to cause friction,” she said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai agrees that “we must coordinate with NTIA and other stakeholders on proposals in bands with federal government equities,” he responded to GAO’s June recommendation the commission work with NTIA and others to develop goals for 5G plans (see 2006290061). It “would be unwise to prejudge the engineering, economic, and other technical outcomes by setting artificial benchmarks, as GAO recommends,” Pai said in letters to House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and other lawmakers released Thursday. “Our goal always is to put spectrum to the highest and best use in the public interest, which we accomplish by relying upon our transparent and inclusive administrative process.”