The Pentagon is preparing a large-scale demonstration of dynamic spectrum-sharing technology this November, to explore how the military and commercial sectors can jointly use the lower 3 GHz band without compromising national security. This effort, led by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) FutureG office and the Office of the Chief Information Officer, follows a December 2024 solicitation seeking industry proposals, notes DefenseScoop.
The lower 3 GHz band is critical for both defense systems and commercial 5G, making spectrum sharing a contentious issue. The demonstration comes following years of back and forth between the Defense Department and the telecommunications industry over access to the 3.1-3.45 GHz S-band used by the Pentagon to operate different radars, weapons and other electronic systems. The telecom industry wants part of that spectrum to meet rising demand for commercial and civil 5G wireless technology, Inside Towers reported.
As Pentagon officials continue advocacy to prevent the military’s share of spectrum from being sold to commercial industry, the Defense Department is looking to demonstrate emerging dynamic spectrum-sharing capabilities before the end of this year, according to DefenseScoop.
The department is currently evaluating proposals for source selection, said Tom Rondeau, principal director for the FutureG office. “We’re focused on the lower 3 GHz band. It is a very difficult band for DoD. We have dozens of types of systems — hundreds of systems total — that operate in that lower 3 Ghz band,” Rondeau said during a panel at the Apex Defense Conference. “How do we share that? How can we do that with commercial success? Because that is important too, … but we can’t do it at the cost of national security.”
The experiment will be coordinated in partnership between the Pentagon and the National Spectrum Consortium, which represents hundreds of industry and academia organizations working on spectrum-related issues, as well as other federal agencies. The department has conducted a number of experiments on dynamic spectrum-sharing operations in the past, but Rondeau noted that the November demonstration will be the “first of its kind” in terms of size and scale.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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