Senate Commerce Committee Passes Spectrum Bill

On July 22, the Senate Commerce Committee passed, on a voice vote, the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 2010 (S. 3490). The bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency that oversees federal spectrum, to provide more information to the public about its plans regarding reallocation of spectrum from federal to non-federal use. The bill also covers relocation costs for federal spectrum users who give it up for commercial purposes, and sets a date certain for doing so.