In 2003, the Department of Commerce's Spectrum Policy Initiative was established with the objective of promoting a more efficient and beneficial use of the spectrum. As part of that Initiative, a series of public forums about spectrum management policy was held. The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board was asked to organize one of these forums, a public forum to gather the views of a variety of government and private sector stakeholders about the impact of spectrum policy on their activities. This report presents a summary of those views. Among those included are those representing national defense, homeland security, aviation, science, public safety, amateur radio, cellular voice and data, and terrestrial broadcast uses of the spectrum. Although prepared by the NRC, the report does not present NRC findings or recommendations. A broader study of spectrum policy, including findings and recommendations, will be issued in early 2005.

The use of radio-frequency communication-commonly referred to as wireless communication-is becoming more pervasive as well as more economically and socially important. Technological progress over many decades has enabled the deployment of several successive generations of cellular telephone technology, which is now used by many billions of people worldwide; the near-universal addition of wireless local area networking to personal computers; and a proliferation of actual and proposed uses of wireless communications. The flood of new technologies, applications, and markets has also opened up opportunities for examining and adjusting the policy framework that currently governs the management and use of the spectrum and the institutions involved in it, and models for allocating spectrum and charging for it have come under increasing scrutiny. Yet even as many agree that further change to the policy framework is needed, there is debate about precisely how the overall framework should be changed, what trajectory its evolution should follow, and how dramatic or rapid the change should be. Many groups have opinions, positions, demands, and desires related to these questions-reflecting multiple commercial, social, and political agendas and a mix of technical, economic, and social perspectives. The development of technologies and associated policy and regulatory regimes are often closely coupled, an interplay apparent as early as the 1910s, when spectrum policy emerged in response to the growth of radio communications. As outlined in this report, current and ongoing technological advances suggest the need for a careful reassessment of the assumptions that inform spectrum policy in the United States today. This book seeks to shine a spotlight on 21st-century technology trends and to outline the implications of emerging technologies for spectrum management in ways that the committee hopes will be useful to those setting future spectrum policy.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is gaining rapid acceptance as a means to track a wide array of manufactured objects. Currently, RFID technologies have shown promise in transportation (e.g., smart fare cards) and commerce (e.g., inventory control) for a variety of uses and are likely to find many new applications in both military and civilian areas if and when current technical issues are resolved. There are a number of policy concerns (e.g., privacy), however, that will become more crucial as the technology spreads. This report presents a summary of a workshop, held by the NRC at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to explore many of the key technical and policy issues. Several important themes that are likely to govern expansion of RFID technology emerged from the workshop and are discussed.

In 2003, the Department of Commerce's Spectrum Policy Initiative was established with the objective of promoting a more efficient and beneficial use of the spectrum. As part of that Initiative, a series of public forums about spectrum management policy was held. The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board was asked to organize one of these forums, a public forum to gather the views of a variety of government and private sector stakeholders about the impact of spectrum policy on their activities. This report presents a summary of those views. Among those included are those representing national defense, homeland security, aviation, science, public safety, amateur radio, cellular voice and data, and terrestrial broadcast uses of the spectrum. Although prepared by the NRC, the report does not present NRC findings or recommendations. A broader study of spectrum policy, including findings and recommendations, will be issued in early 2005.

The Space Communications Office (SCO) at NASA has two primary roles. The first is to manage two of the communications networks that enable spaceflight operations and research, and the second is to integrate agency-wide telecommunications issues. In 2005, NASA asked the NRC to review the effectiveness of the SCO in carrying out its responsibilities by assessing the overall quality of the space communications program. This report presents a review of each of the program elements within the SCOâ€"the space network, NASA's integrated space network (NISN), spectrum management, standards management, search and rescue, communications and navigation architecture, technology, and operations integration. The review focuses on formulation of plans for each element, plan development methodology, connections with the broader community, and overall capabilities. Recommendations for improving SCO operations and organization are provided.