Commerce Secretary Raimondo redoubles call for a national spectrum strategy

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo redoubles her call for the Biden administration to develop a national spectrum strategy in remarks before the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)'s annual Spectrum Symposium. Putting together such a strategy was a priority for former President Donald Trump, but one that was never fully developed. Raimondo clamored for one as a potential solution to 5G spectrum chaos during her confirmation hearings in January 2021. “Because of spectrum’s strategic importance across the board, we need a national spectrum strategy that involves all major governmental stakeholders,” says Raimondo, according to prepared remarks shared with Politico. Raimondo adds that her department “has been working closely with the [Federal Communications Commission] to ensure that the wireless industry has the spectrum it needs to fully deploy 5G across the country.” Agencies like the Department of Commerce, the FCC, the Pentagon and the Department of Transportation frequently feuded during the Trump era over various slices of the airwaves, and Raimondo hopes to help smooth over some of these frictions. She also plans to hail the ongoing cooperation between Commerce, Pentagon, the FCC and the wireless industry in advance of the October 2021 5G airwaves sale.