Spectrum Coordination Act

Spectrum Coordination Act

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to document publicly their interagency coordination efforts with respect to certain spectrum reallocation actions potentially affecting federal spectrum users. 

Specifically, for any proposal by the FCC to reallocate radio frequency spectrum in a manner anticipated to result in an auction or licensing that may impact federal spectrum use, the NTIA must file certain information in the public docket for the action during the public comment period. Specifically, this filing must include (1) the date on which the FCC notified the NTIA of the proposed action; (2) any federal entities that may be affected by the proposal; (3) the date on which the NTIA notified those entities of the proposal; and (4) a summary of any technical, procedural, or policy concerns of potentially affected federal entities or the NTIA. 

In the event that the FCC promulgates a final rule involving such a spectrum action, the FCC must publish in the Federal Register along with the final rule an interagency coordination summary describing (1) the date on which the FCC notified the NTIA of the action; and (2) whether the NTIA or any potentially affected federal entity raised concerns regarding the action and, if so, how they were addressed. 

Separately, the FCC and the NTIA must update the Memorandum of Understanding between them within three years of the bill’s enactment and periodically thereafter. Updates must reflect changing technological, procedural, and policy circumstances.