March 2022

The Interagency Process and Its Importance in Securing the Future of 5G

This paper aims to: 1) outline why the Federal Communications Commission is the appropriate authority to resolve commercial spectrum disputes; 2) outline how the interagency process works and the role the National Telecommunications and Information Administration plays in resolving issues with government spectrum incumbents; and 3) demonstrate the importance of coordination by reviewing a few recent examples of government agencies circumventing this interagency process and the problems that has created.

Engaging State-Level Broadband Offices

With the 2010 Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Association’s State Broadband Initiative (SBI) created State Broadband Offices to support efficient and creative use of broadband technology to improve states’ digital economic competitiveness. When the SBI grant program officially ended in 2015, many State Broadband Offices thrived through local funding, while others closed.