White House, DOD to Allow Commercial Sharing on 3450-3550 MHz

President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday it reached agreement with DOD to allow commercial sharing of spectrum in the 3450-3550 MHz band. NTIA reported last month that spectrum is the best candidate from the larger 3100-3550 MHz band for sharing. The White House said it believes the FCC will be able to auction sharing rights for the 100 MHz beginning in December 2021, with commercial operations on the band beginning in mid-2022.

Acting Undersecretary of Defense-Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios told reporters the band “can be made available” for commercial sharing “without sacrificing” existing military incumbents. DOD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy highlighted a spectrum sharing framework for the frequency that will protect DOD radar operations on the band.

Pentagon and White House officials began meeting in mid-April to discuss how to make the spectrum available on an expedited basis, Deasy said.