WORKSHOP OBJECTIVE

Identify challenges associated with obtaining, disseminating, and using data about spectrum to 

support policy making, operations, and R&D with applications to spectrum sharing & optimization 

through improved analysis, modeling & prediction. Discuss ideas for resolution of these challenges 

through the action of researchers, industry, agencies, regulators, and/or legislators with potential 

inputs to R&D agency prioritization and the National Spectrum Strategy.

WORKSHOP OUTPUT

Making Data Available for National Spectrum Management: Workshop Summary Report with record 

of discussion on challenges and ideas for resolution. To be published by NITRD.

WORKSHOP AGENDA IN BRIEF

Wednesday, May 3 

7:30 am Check-In

8:30 am Keynote Session

10:45 am Break 

11:00 am Session 1: Requirements Perspectives

12:30 pm Lunch 

1:30pm Tours of NIST and NTIA Boulder Labs

3:00 pm Session 2: Constraints and Policy Issues 

5:30 pm Reception 

Thursday, May 4

8:00 am Session 3: Spectrum Data Collection 

10:15 am Break

10:30 am Session 4: Spectrum Data Storage and Dissemination 

12:30 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Tours of NIST and NTIA Boulder Labs

3:00 pm Session 5: Summary of Challenges and Ideas for Challenge Resolution 

5:30 pm Adjourn

WSRD Workshop: Making Data Available for National 

Spectrum Management

NIST Boulder Laboratories – May 3-4, 2023
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

7:30 am Check In

8:30 am Keynote Session

8:30 am Welcome from WSRD Co-Chair 

Mike DiFrancisco, NTIA OSM

8:35 am Welcoming Remarks

Kamie Roberts, NITRD NCO virtual

8:40 am Perspectives on Data for National Spectrum Management and Implications to 

National Spectrum Strategy 

Matt Pearl, EOP/National Security Council virtual

9:00 am Overview of the NIST Privacy Framework

Dylan Gilbert, NIST

9:20 am Spectrum Use and Planning

Joel Taubenblatt, FCC WTB

9:40 am Observations on Data for Federal Spectrum Management & IT Modernization

Alan Rosner, NTIA

10:00 am Insights on Policy and Regulatory Issues that may Shape the Future of Spectrum 

Monitoring

Dale Hatfield, UC Boulder & Silicon Flatirons

10:20 am Technical Keynote Linking Data Collection, Storage, Dissemination, and Operations

John Chapin, NSF

10:45 am Break
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

11:00 am Session 1: Requirements Perspectives

Session Briefings and Panel to Address Key Questions

Tom Rondeau, DOD OUSD (R&E) - MODERATOR

Lisa Guess, Cradlepoint-Ericsson

Charles Cooper, NTIA 

Joel Taubenblatt, FCC WTB 

Steve Ellingson, Virginia Tech 

Key Questions:

• What are the Top 5 “most wanted” spectrum data sets in each of the following three areas:

o Policy Making

o Spectrum Management and Operations? 

o R&D 

• What are the most important data characteristics for each area (completeness, accuracy, 

diversity, etc.)

NOTE: Workshop participants are encouraged to continue thinking about these questions 

throughout Day 1 and Day 2. The group will reconvene in Session 5 to establish a non-prioritized 

Top 5 for each area.

12:30 pm Lunch

1:30pm Tours of NIST and NTIA Boulder Labs

Make sure to sign up for the tours during check-in as space is limited.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

3:00 pm Session 2: Constraints and Policy Issues

Session Briefings and Panel to Address Key Questions:

Derek Khlopin, NTIA - MODERATOR

Martin Doczkat, FCC

Lisa Guess, Cradlepoint-Ericsson

Martin Weiss, University of Pittsburgh

Mark Walker, CableLabs

Key Questions:

• What are the legal, policy, and privacy constraints and how can they be overcome while 

supporting the needs of policy making, spectrum management and operations, and R&D?

• Are there digital equity or inclusion issues to be considered?

• What operational security issues need to be considered? (For agency operations but also 

for key spectrum dependent functions – health care, transportation, etc.)

5:30 pm Reception
THURSDAY, MAY 4

8:00 am Session 3: Spectrum Data Collection

Session Briefings and Panel to Address Key Questions:

Melissa Midzor, NIST NASCTN - MODERATOR

Mike Cotton, NTIA ITS – MODERATOR 

Won Namgoong, University of Albany 

Kobus van der Merwe, Univ. of Utah (POWDER) 

Greg Wagner, DISA DSO 

Andy Clegg, Google

Jenifer Alvarez, Maxar/Aurora Insight 

Brian Jordan, Aerospace Corporation

Key Questions: 

• How (technically) can we collect spectrum data in a way that:

o is affordable, scalable, trustworthy, power-efficient, and useful,

o is legal and respects privacy concerns,

o meets the needs of policy, operational and R&D users?

Key Factors:

• Data ownership

• Hardware affordability, directionality; Receiver System challenges – interpolation, 

probability of false positives/negatives (Receiver Operating Characteristics curve over an 

area); backhaul bandwidth, storage bandwidth.

• Crowd sourcing issues – trust, systematic errors.

• Software systems challenges - moving computation to the data – virtual platform 

standards.

10:15 am Break
THURSDAY, MAY 4

10:30 am Session 4: Spectrum Data Storage and Dissemination

Session Briefings and Panel to Address Key Questions

Kaushik Chowdhury, Northeastern University - MODERATOR

Nada Golmie, NIST CTL 

Doug Boulware, NTIA ITS 

Monisha Ghosh, Notre Dame University/Spectrum X 

Keith Gremban, CU Boulder/Silicon Flatirons 

Key Questions: 

• How do we make spectrum data available broadly to support policy making, operations, & 

R&D? 

o How do we control who gets access?

• How to pay for a data storage and distribution infrastructure?

• Who controls it – governance to maximize benefits and prevent misuse?

• Are there new techniques for accomplishing goals while storing less privacy-sensitive 

data?

• How do we label data to make it useful for all possible (legal) purposes?

Key Factors:

• A quantity problem - Vast amounts of data; Do we need to be shipping disc drives around 

the country? Or contract with a big cloud that hosts all the data and folks upload their 

processing algorithms to it?

• A standards/metadata/labeling problem - how to capture/represent enough information 

that downstream processing by 3rd parties (& AI) is enabled?

• An architecture problem - how to federate different repositories/systems?

12:30 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Tours of NIST and NTIA Boulder Labs

Make sure to sign up for the tours during check-in as space is limited.
THURSDAY, MAY 4

3:00 pm Session 5: Summary of Challenges and Ideas for Challenge 

Resolution

Workshop Output Session

Keith Gremban, CU Boulder/Silicon Flatirons – SESSION CHAIR

Goals:

• Document the top 5 “most wanted” spectrum data sets in each of the following three areas:

o Policy Making

o Spectrum Management and Operations? 

o R&D 

• Summarize challenges associated with obtaining and using data about spectrum to 

support policy making, operations, and R&D.

• Discuss and document ideas for resolution of these challenges through the action of 

researchers, industry, agencies, regulators, and/or legislators.

• Discuss what results should be included in the National Spectrum Strategy to address 

data-driven processes for long-term spectrum planning that increase transparency into 

current and future Federal and non-Federal spectrum use and that anticipate and enable 

technological advances in order to facilitate spectrum access.