DOGE Should Focus On Wasted Federal Spectrum

The Department of Government Efficiency should live up to its name and propose lasting reforms that improve government efficiency. Freeing up federal spectrum for commercial uses presents such an opportunity. For that to happen, however, the agencies that control much of the nation’s spectrum need a better incentive to give some of it up. Spectrum is the foundation for the ubiquitous wireless technologies that have become essential for businesses and consumers. Federal agencies also are major users of spectrum: it is an important input for mission-critical activities performed by the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and many other agencies. But since there is no market test, we don’t know whether the agencies that control this spectrum are using it efficiently or whether the allocation of spectrum between the public and private sectors is efficient. 

[Thomas M. Lenard is President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Lawrence J. White is Robert Kavesh Professor of Economics at the NYU Sloan School of Business.]