DoD hints at ‘paid-for relocation’ in lower 3GHz

A top official at the US Department of Defense (DoD) said the agency would consider moving some of its airborne radar operations off the lower 3GHz band in order to free it up for 5G operations.

“We’re also going to look at some other aspects, potentially some limited, paid-for relocation, perhaps for future airborne radars,” said DoD CIO John Sherman at an NTIA event this week. “We’re going to check this out here, and really try to turn over every rock we can on this, because we know the criticality … about the very close unity of commercial and military success.”

However, Sherman reiterated the Pentagon’s preference for spectrum sharing – rather than relocation – in the lower 3GHz band. He did not provide any details on how much spectrum the DoD might be willing to give up under a relocation program, nor did he indicate how long relocation might take. Presumably any such movement would only involve “future” airborne radar operations, leaving a question over what might happen to existing operations.

The potential for “paid-for relocation” is important because the US 5G industry is keen to move military users off the lower 3GHz band so it can be repurposed for commercial operations. Paying for such a shift is a familiar concept in the telecommunications industry as spectrum auction revenues are often used to relocate incumbent users to other bands.

US military officials, in past remarks on the topic, have resisted calls for the DoD to release any spectrum in the lower 3GHz band. Instead, they’ve only been open to spectrum sharing scenarios.

A ‘moon shot’

Sherman made his latest comments Thursday in a keynote address to the NTIA’s newest Spectrum Symposium, the agency’s sixth such annual spectrum event, held in Washington, DC. This year’s symposium is the NTIA’s first major public spectrum event following the release of the Biden administration’s national spectrum strategy late last year. That document puts the NTIA squarely in charge of handling spectrum coordination between federal and commercial users.

“The lower 3GHz is too important not to be able to use,” Sherman said during his seven-minute keynote presentation.

Sherman said US Navy ships are currently using radar in the lower 3GHz band to protect international shipping from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. That work shows how critical the spectrum band is for military operations, he said, noting that soldiers use the band in the US during training.

But Sherman said the DoD remains open to sharing the band with commercial users.

“We’re going to be looking at something called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing,” he said. “We have to figure DSS out.”

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