Ross Wilkers
The number of unmanned aerial systems using government-held spectrum has increased more than 40 times between 2002 and 2010, Defense Department Chief Information Officer Teri Takai said Friday.
American Forces Press Service reports Takai made the remarks following the release of a report from a White House advisory council on how spectrum relates to economic growth.
Takai said more than 7,500 UAS systems used government-held spectrum in 2010, compared to 167 in 2002, adding this has resulted in increased training requirements.
“Military spectrum requirements are diverse and complex,“ she said, according to AFPS, adding the Pentagon should “recognize the growing spectrum demands resulting from (DoD“™s) increasing reliance on spectrum-dependent technologies.“
In its report, the President“™s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommends federal agencies and commercial users share spectrum as reallocation could be time-consuming.
Lawrence Strickling, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said it would take at least ten years and about $18 billion to clear a 90-megahertz portion of spectrum used by 20 agencies.
In May, NTIA said more than 3,100 individual frequency assignments of those agencies would need to be moved and the Pentagon would have to spend $2.35 billion to move its frequencies.
