MATSUI, GUTHRIE REINTRODUCE SMART SPECTRUM ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07),Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) reintroduced the Simplifying Management, Access, Reallocation, and Transfer of Spectrum Act, or SMART Spectrum Act to establish a tool to improve the coordination of shared spectrum and mitigate harmful interference for commercial and federal users.

"As the demand for spectrum continues to grow, it is crucial that we coordinate and maximize the use of our valuable spectrum resources," said Congresswoman Matsui. "Promoting efficient spectrum usage is crucial to ensure that federal agencies, commercial users, and most importantly consumers, are able to fully utilize a resilient and reliable wireless ecosystem. The SMART Spectrum Act would provide important clarity to help us achieve these goals."

"Spectrum plays a critical role in national security, weather monitoring, cellular service, and Americans' favorite radio and television shows," said Congressman Guthrie. "As more innovative, wireless technologies come online and use our nation's finite spectrum resource, our country simultaneously needs to be more innovative and efficient in managing this critical resource. I'm proud to reintroduce the SMART Spectrum Act to improve the management and utilization of federal spectrum, which would ultimately enable better connectivity. My bill creates a standardized information sharing system, which will give both federal and commercial users more opportunities to use federal spectrum."

As wireless technologies continue to develop, the federal government needs to become more efficient with the spectrum set aside for public services. The SMART Spectrum Act increases opportunities for commercial and federal users to operate in underutilized spectrum licensed to the federal government by establishing an Incumbent Informing Capability system at the NTIA.

This system would facilitate spectrum sharing between federal entities and between federal and non-federal users operating in federal spectrum. Users can use this system to share what time, where geographically, and in which band of electromagnetic spectrum the users are operating. This exchange of information allows federal and non-federal users to share spectrum that is not being fully utilized by the federal government and helps mitigate harmful interference.

The SMART Spectrum Act passed the House last Congress. Click HERE for bill text.

Congresswoman Matsui has long been a champion of promoting innovation and equity in technology and serves as Chair of the Congressional High-Tech and Spectrum Caucuses. She has pushed for a unified spectrum strategy and been a key proponent of the FCC's spectrum auction authority to ensure a healthy spectrum pipeline for years to come.

She co-authored the Spectrum Innovation Act, which would extend fixes to the process for making the lower 3 GHz band available for auction and fund important initiatives, including the FCC's rip and replace program. She is also co-author of the bipartisan Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which was passed in 2020. The legislation reaffirmed a bipartisan commitment to protect America's communications networks' supply chain and worked to prohibit Huawei, ZTE and other equipment from threatening America's telecommunications networks.

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