The radio frequency spectrum is the part of the natural spectrum of electromagnetic radiation lying between the frequency limits of 3 kilohertz (kHz) and 300 GHz. Federal agencies use spectrum to help meet a variety of missions, such as national defense, law enforcement, weather services, and aviation communication. Nonfederal entities (which include commercial companies and state and local governments) also use spectrum to provide a variety of services. For example, state and local police departments, fire departments, and other emergency services agencies use spectrum to transmit and receive critical voice and data communications, while commercial entities use spectrum to provide wireless services, including mobile voice and data, paging, broadcast radio and television, and satellite services. See figure 1 for examples of how spectrum is used. In the United States, responsibility for spectrum management is divided between NTIA and FCC. NTIA and FCC jointly determine the amount of spectrum allocated for federal, nonfederal, and shared use. After this allocation occurs, in order to use spectrum, nonfederal users must obtain a license from FCC to use specific spectrum frequencies, and federal users must obtain a similar authorization from NTIA—usually referred to as a frequency assignment. In addition to its spectrum allocation and authorization duties, NTIA serves as the President’s principal advisor on telecommunications and information policy and manages federally assigned spectrum, including preparing for, participating in, and implementing the results of international radio conferences, as well as conducting extensive research and technical studies through its research and engineering laboratory, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. NTIA has authority to issue rules and regulations as may be necessary to ensure the effective, efficient, and equitable use of spectrum both nationally and internationally. It also has authority to develop long-range spectrum plans to meet future government spectrum requirements, including those of public safety. In addition to NTIA and FCC, there are other entities involved in spectrum management: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is involved in managing agency spectrum use through the budget process. OMB’s Circular A-11, Section 33.4, directs agencies to consider the economic value of spectrum when requesting funding to procure a spectrum-dependent system. The circular states that spectrum should generally not be considered a free resource, but rather should be considered to have value and be included, to the extent practical, in economic analyses of alternative systems. IRAC—an interagency advisory committee—was established in 1922 to coordinate federal use of spectrum and provide policy advice on spectrum issues. It is comprised of representatives from 19 federal agencies that use spectrum. IRAC’s mission and placement have evolved over its 80-year history. IRAC was originally organized by federal agencies that were seeking a way to resolve issues related to federal spectrum use in a cooperative manner; its initial mission was to assist in the assignment of radio frequencies to federal users and to coordinate federal government spectrum use. In 1952, its mission was expanded to include formulating and recommending policies, plans, and actions for federal government spectrum use. Currently, IRAC is primarily involved in the frequency assignment and system certification processes and is chaired by NTIA, whose role as chair is to call IRAC meetings, establish IRAC agendas, and manage other tasks associated with the administrative operations of IRAC. The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC)—a federal advisory committee—provides advice and recommendations to NTIA. This advisory committee is organized through NTIA’s Office of Policy Analysis and Development and was created following a recommendation made in President Bush’s 21st Century Spectrum Policy Initiative. CSMAC consists of approximately 25 spectrum policy experts from the private sector and it offers expertise and perspective on long- range spectrum planning, as well as other issues, and makes recommendations to NTIA to facilitate this planning. CSMAC was organized in 2006, and operates under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Currently, there are three ongoing spectrum-related initiatives aimed at identifying spectrum that can be made available to meet the nation’s demand for commercial wireless broadband services. These initiatives include (1) a recommendation in the National Broadband Plan, (2) a June 28, 2010, presidential memorandum, and (3) the NTIA Fast Track Evaluation. The National Broadband Plan recommends that a total of 500 MHz of federally and nonfederally allocated spectrum be made available for mobile, fixed, and unlicensed broadband use over the next 10 years. This spectrum can come from several different frequency ranges and would be made available for a variety of licensed and unlicensed flexible commercial uses, as well as to meet the broadband needs of specialized users such as public safety, energy, educational, and other users. The plan states that for spectrum from the 225 MHz to 3.7 GHz range, a total of 300 MHz should be made available for mobile flexible use within 5 years. On June 28, 2010, the President issued a memorandum directing NTIA to begin identifying federally allocated spectrum that can be made available for wireless broadband. This memorandum, in line with the National Broadband Plan, directs NTIA to collaborate with FCC to develop a plan and timetable to make the 500 MHz of federally and nonfederally allocated spectrum available for wireless broadband use in the next 10 years. A joint request from OMB, the National Economic Council, and the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy requested that NTIA identify and make available federally allocated spectrum for broadband use in the next 5 years. In response to this request, NTIA analyzed federally assigned spectrum to determine the feasibility of making certain federally allocated spectrum bands available for broadband use, referred to as the Fast Track Evaluation. In addition, legislation has also been introduced in the House and Senate that would help identify spectrum or relocate spectrum for commercial uses, including (1) the Spectrum Inventory and Auction Act of 2011, and the (2) Reforming Airwaves by Developing Incentives and Opportunistic Sharing Act, which would require an inventory of existing users on prime radio frequencies; (3) the Spectrum Optimization Act, which would provide FCC with authority to conduct incentive auctions; and (4) the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 2011, which would clarify the rights and responsibilities of federal users in the spectrum relocation process. As the federal agency authorized to develop national spectrum policy, NTIA has been directed to conduct several projects focused on reforming governmentwide federal spectrum management and promoting efficiency among federal users of spectrum; however, its efforts in this area have resulted in limited progress toward improved spectrum management. NTIA has authority to, among other things, establish policies concerning assigning spectrum to federal agencies, coordinate spectrum use across federal agencies, and promote efficient use of spectrum resources by federal agencies in a manner which encourages the most beneficial public use. As such, NTIA has a role in ensuring that federally allocated spectrum is used efficiently. According to NTIA’s Redbook and agency officials, efficient use includes ensuring that federal agencies’ decisions to use spectrum to support government missions have been adequately justified and that all viable tradeoffs and options have been explored before making the decision to use spectrum-dependent technology, and ensuring that these tradeoffs are continuously reviewed to determine if the need for spectrum has changed over time. NTIA’s primary guidance to federal agencies is technical guidance concerning how to manage assigned spectrum provided through NTIA’s Redbook. In May 2003, the Bush Administration directed NTIA to develop two strategic plans, yet it has only completed one. At that time, the Bush Administration launched the Spectrum Policy Initiative for the 21st Century, which recognized the rapidly increasing role for wireless services and demands on the use of the radio frequency spectrum. In response to this initiative, NTIA stated it would produce two plans. First, NTIA would produce a federal strategic spectrum plan to address governmentwide spectrum needs. Specifically, the Bush Administration directed federal agencies to develop individual strategic spectrum plans, which would then be compiled by NTIA along with input from other stakeholders such as FCC and state and local governments, to form a governmentwide strategic spectrum plan. Second, NTIA was to use the federal strategic spectrum plan to assist in developing a national spectrum plan to address comprehensive federal and nonfederal spectrum needs. NTIA responded to this directive by stating it would produce a national spectrum plan, and encourage state, regional, and local government agencies to synthesize long-range planning processes into a nonfederal government strategic spectrum plan which would also provide input into the national strategic spectrum plan. Additionally, NTIA stated that it would invite FCC to provide information regarding the future requirements of nonfederal government spectrum to be included in the national strategic spectrum plan. In March 2008, NTIA issued its report on federal spectrum use entitled The Federal Strategic Spectrum Plan. Neither NTIA nor FCC has issued the national spectrum plan that was initially scheduled for completion in December 2007. While the intent of the Federal Strategic Spectrum Plan was to identify the current and projected spectrum requirements and long-range planning processes for the federal government, we found the final plan is limited in these areas. For example, the plan does not identify or include quantitative governmentwide data on federal spectrum needs. Instead, NTIA’s plan primarily consists of a compilation of the plans submitted by 15 of the more than 60 agencies that use federal spectrum. Additionally, due to the fact that they contained limited information regarding future requirements and technology needs, NTIA concluded that its “long-range assumptions are necessarily also limited.” Furthermore, NTIA’s plan did not contain key elements and best practices of strategic planning, which the Government Performance and Results Act, OMB, and we have identified as including the following elements: identification of long-term goals and objectives, approaches or strategies to achieve these goals and objectives, an ongoing process for revising the plan approximately every 3 years. For example, NTIA’s plan does not include a discussion of long term goals and objectives for governmentwide spectrum management, or approaches and next steps for achieving these goals.