Spotlight on NTIA: Edward Drocella, Chief of Spectrum Engineering and Analysis Division, Office of Spectrum Management

[Commentary] Ed Drocella, chief of the Spectrum Engineering and Analysis Division in the Office of Spectrum Management, has played a key role in helping to address some of the technical challenges associated with National Telecommunications & Information Administration’s work on the 500 megahertz spectrum initiative. Most recently, Drocella led the NTIA team that helped pave the way for commercial use of the 3.5 Ghz band. In a 2010 report, NTIA proposed the shared use by commercial and federal users of the 3.5 GHz band as long as geographic exclusion zones were included to protect critical high-powered radar systems operated by the Department of Defense (DoD). However, for the band to be commercially viable, the initial exclusion zones needed to be reduced. Drocella’s team at NTIA spearheaded groundbreaking analysis and modeling techniques and collaborated closely with DoD and Federal Communications Commission staff to significantly reduce the exclusion zones, maximizing the commercial market potential for new broadband services. This collaboration between NTIA, FCC and DoD paved the way for the new rules issued by the FCC in April creating a tiered system for shared use of the 3.5 Ghz band. Drocella has been at NTIA for more than two decades.