Transcript U.S. Regulatory Structures

National Science Foundation
U.S. Spectrum Regulatory Structure
Andrew W. CLEGG
U.S. National Science Foundation
[email protected]
Third Summer School in Spectrum Management for Radio Astronomy
Tokyo, Japan – June 2, 2010
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U.S. Telecommunications Authority
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The Communications Act of 1934 provides for regulation of
telecommunications in the United States
> http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf
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The Act establishes a dual structure that is unique to the U.S.
 Federal government radio stations “shall use such
frequencies as shall be assigned to each or to each class by
the President.”
 All other use of the radio spectrum, including private sector,
amateur, and state and local governments, is governed by the
Federal Communications Commission
 The general and permanent telecommunications laws of the
United States are contained in Title 47 of the U.S. Code
 http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=BROWSE&title=47usc
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U.S. SPECTRUM REGULATORY STRUCTURE
CONGRESS (COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934)
President
- Federal government
radio spectrum use
(includes Federallyfunded science
operations)
- Now delegated to
NTIA
COORDINATION
ADVISORY
All spectrum use
except Federal
government (includes
non-Federally funded
science operations)
LIAISON
INTERDEPARTMENT RADIO ADVISORY COMMITTEE (IRAC)
19+ Federal Gov Departments/Agencies (includes NSF & NASA)
Chaired by NTIA
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Advantages and Problems of US
Structure
Advantage:
Isolates Federal government and nonFederal-government interests and
procedures
Disadvantages:
Commercial interests thrive on innovation
and rapid technology development and
deployment, while government generally
lacks innovation and moves at glacial
government/ITU speeds
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The U.S. Non-Federal-Government
Spectrum Regulatory Process
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The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)
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Established by the Communications Act of 1934
Charged with regulating interstate and international
communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and
cable.
> The Act was amended in 1982 to give the FCC
authority to regulate intrastate communications
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The FCC’s jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District
of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.
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FCC Functions
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Responsible for managing the radio spectrum to meet the
needs of the private sector and state and local governments
The FCC is one of 50+ U.S. regulatory agencies empowered to
create and enforce rules that carry the full force of U.S. law
Regulatory agencies conduct their business through public
rulemaking proceedings that are necessary to implement the
general provisions of the enabling legislation
> In the case of the FCC, the major enabling legislation is the
Communications Act.
Rulemaking proceedings are governed generally by rules and
processes defined by the Administrative Procedures Act
Broadly speaking (leaving out many other details):
> Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): Presents proposed
new or modified rules, and requests public comment
> Report & Order: Discusses agency’s response to public
comments and its final decisions regarding new and modified
rules
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FCC Rules
New and modified rules must be published in a daily
publication of the National Archives and Records
Administration, called the Federal Register
> The rules take effect no sooner than 30 days after such publication
On a regular basis (presently once per year), the director of the
Federal Register is required to publish special editions of the
Federal Register to present a compact and practical code
incorporating all current rule changes
> The special editions constitute the various Titles of the Code of
Federal Regulations
The FCC’s rules are Title 47 (“Telecommunication”) of the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
> Title 47 is normally published in October of each year, and the
latest edition is available electronically between October and
January.
> Title 47 is broken into 49 different parts that regulate different
general areas of telecommunications, as well as the general
administrative functioning of the FCC
CFR resource:
> http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
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The U.S. Federal Government
Spectrum Regulatory Process
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Federal Government Spectrum Use
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The Communications Act vests authority in licensing Federal government
radio stations to the president
The president currently delegates this authority to the Department of
Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA)
> NTIA was created in 1978, combing functions of the White House Office
of Telecommunications Policy and the Commerce Department’s Office
of Telecommunications
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NTIA’s Mission:
> Advises the president on domestic and international communications
policy
> Manages the Federal government’s use of the radio frequency spectrum
> Performs research in telecommunications sciences
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Rules for Federal government spectrum use are in the NTIA Manual
> http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/redbook/redbook.html
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The Interdepartment Radio Advisory
Committee (IRAC)
Created “spontaneously through a demand of the interested
government agencies,” the IRAC has been in continuous
existence since June 1, 1922* (pre-dates both the NTIA and the
Communications Act)
The IRAC is presently structured to advise NTIA’s Office of
Spectrum Management on Federal government agencies’
spectrum requirements and related issues
19 Federal government agencies are members of the IRAC
(including NASA and NSF)
> Three additional agencies are represented through other
members
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A representative of the FCC also participates as a liaison between
the two regulatory authorities
Meets approximately every three weeks
Chaired by the Deputy Assistant Administrator of NTIA’s Office of
Spectrum Management
* Webster, E. M., “The Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee”, Proceedings of the I.R.E., August
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1945, p. 495.
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Subcommittees of the IRAC
Technical Subcommittee (TSC)
• Oldest standing committee
• Addresses technical issues
Space Systems Subcommittee (SSS)
Space system registration, coordination, etc.
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Spectrum Planning Subcommittee (SPS)
Spectrum availability and technical compliance for new radio
systems
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Radio Conference Subcommittee (RCS)
Government preparations for WRCs
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Frequency Assignment Subcommittee (FAS)
Coordinates frequency assignments
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Emergency Planning Subcommittee
Security and emergency preparedness for spectrumdependent systems
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Various ad-hoc subcommittees (such as WRC implementation,
Canada/Mexico coordination, etc.)
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U.S. Spectrum Allocations
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The US Allocation Table
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In the U.S., bands may be allocated to:
> Federal government only, e.g. the 267-322 MHZ band
allocated to the Federal fixed and mobile services
> Non-Federal-government only, e.g. the 88-108 MHz FM
broadcast band
> Jointly to the Federal government and the nonFederal-government (many bands)
> All radio astronomy bands are shared Federal
government & non-Federal-government
 NRAO and NAIC (NSF-funded) are considered
government operations, while university facilities
generally are not
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The National Table of Frequency Allocations is comprised
of the Federal government table of frequency allocations
and the FCC table of frequency allocations.
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A Page From the U.S. Allocation Table
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U.S. Involvement in the
International Process
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The International Telecommunications
Advisory Committee (ITAC)
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Permanent Advisory Committee to the Dept. of State on telecom
matters
> Mirrors the ITU Sector Structure
> Operates under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
> This means that meetings must be open to all
ITAC-R mirrors the ITU-R Study Group Structure
> SG 7 (Science Services) chaired by NASA
> WP 7D (Radio Astronomy) chaired by NSF
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 8-10 meetings/year, accessible by phone
Documents must be approved by the US National Committee
prior to being forwarded to the ITU SGs
> USNC composed of ~ 100 individuals
> Documents posted on website for comments, for 10-14 days
> In case of disagreement, decision on how to proceed is made jointly
by NTIA, FCC and the State Department
> This happens repeatedly with documents of interest to radio
astronomy
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How Does the Dual Track (or Triad)
Process Work: WRC Preparations
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Three Track Process:
> Government proposals developed within
TG 200/300
the Radio Conference Subcommittee (RCS)
of the IRAC with and/or based on Agency (e.g. NSF) inputs
> Private Sector Proposals are developed by the FCC
* FCC convenes WRC Advisory Committee (WAC)
to provide non-federal-government input
* WAC develops proposals
* FCC publishes Notice of Inquiry (NoI) regarding proposals
> FCC and NTIA proposals often differ and have to be reconciled
> This is sometimes (usually?) a lengthy and painful process!
> U.S. ITAC SGs, WPs and TGs
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 Develop Technical Input to ITU-R SGs,
Input to CPM Report
Final Set of U.S. Proposals Developed by NTIA, FCC and DoS
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How Does the Dual Track Process
Work: WRC Implementation
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Govt. Implementation of WRC actions
(usually a fairly straightforward process)
> IRAC AH committee considers WRC actions and how to
incorporate them into the US Government Table
> Once agreement is reached, proposal forwarded to IRAC for
approval
> Upon IRAC approval, NTIA sends package to the FCC
FCC Implementation
> Implementation proposal put together by International
Bureau
> Circulated to other Bureaus for coordination and approval
> Circulated to Commissioners
> Put out for Public comment through a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM)
> After public comment, FCC coordinates with NTIA and
adopts changes through a Report & Order
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Inter-American Telecommunication Commission
(CITEL)
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Since the 1980s, regional organizations (CEPT, CITEL,
APT, etc.) tend to dominate the ITU, particularly World
Radio Conferences
CITEL is the main telecommunication forum of the
Americas – 35 member states
> Comisión Interamericana de TELecomunicaciones
Permanent Consultative Committee II (PCC II) deals with
radiocommunications. See:
http://portal.oas.org/Portal/Topic/CITEL/Estructura/CCPII/tabid/463/language/en-US/default.aspx
Working Group on Conference Preparations
If possible, proposals to a WRC are submitted by various
countries as Inter American Proposals (IAPs)
Radio astronomers so far have limited participation in
CITEL activities
CITEL countries with radio astronomy interests:
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, USA…
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How To Get Involved With
ITU-R SGs WPs, and the rest
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In the U.S.:
> Membership in US ITAC SGs, WPs, etc. is open, as provided by the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), that regulates their
functioning
> SG meeting dates and places have to be announced in the Federal
Register 30 days in advance of the meeting
 WP meetings do not need to be similarly advertised,
as they are considered subcommittees of the main group
> If someone desires to participate, he/she needs to:
a) contact the chair of the SG/WP or
b) simply show up at the meeting
> Membership in CORF is by invitation of the National Academies, but
portions of the meetings are open to all
> Membership in WP delegations to the ITU is up to the chair
> Membership in SG delegations to the ITU is up to the State Dept.
(hardly anyone has ever been refused!)
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> Membership in WRC Delegations is determined by the State Dept., acting
on Recommendation of NTIA and/or FCC
Elsewhere: ?
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TIES Account and how to get one?
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What is TIES?
> The ITU Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) is a set of
networked information services and resources for the global
telecommunications community.
What can you access?
> Study Group documents
> Conference documents
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> Recommendations (semi-trial basis)
What can’t you access?
> ITU documentation that requires payment (Handbooks, Final Acts,
etc. )
Who can have access?
> Government Telecommunication Administrations of Member States
and Sector Members
How to go about getting one?
> In U.S., through NTIA and FCC, WP and SG Chairman
> IUCAF (ask Masatoshi)
> Elsewhere?
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Science in the U.S. Spectrum
Regulatory Process
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Radio Astronomy in the
US Spectrum Management Process
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Government: NSF Electromagnetic Spectrum
Management Unit (established 1974)
> Provides Input to NTIA:
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 Directly, or through IRAC and Subcommittees
Non- government: Committee on Radio Frequencies
(CORF) of the National Academies
 Funded by NSF and NASA
 Chairman and members selected by the National Academies
> Provides input to the FCC through
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 Filings in Response to NPRM, NOI, etc.
 Advice to NSF and NASA Spectrum Managers
ITAC-R: US WP 7D
> Provides Input through US Documentation submitted to WP
7D meetings
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CORF
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Represents the interests of U.S. scientists who use radio
frequencies for research – e.g. radio astronomers and remote
sensing in the spectrum management process, primarily
through filing comments in FCC proceedings.
> http://sites.nationalacademies.org/BPA/BPA_048819
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Membership divided among radio astronomers, remote sensing,
oceanography, atmospheric research, wildlife tracking, etc.
communities (~ 50 % of members are radio astronomers)
Meets twice a year, in the spring and fall
Drafts FCC filings
Filings written in collaboration with members, and subject to
National Academies’ review process
> Sometimes not compatible with filing deadlines
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CORF meetings can include Canadian and Mexican participation
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U.S. Spectrum Regulatory Structure -SUMMARY
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The U.S. maintains a unique structure in which
management and regulation of Federal government
radio spectrum is mostly separate from the
management and regulation of non-Federalgovernment spectrum
Science use is represented by both Federal
government (NSF) and non-Federal-government
(CORF, etc.) inputs to the U.S. process
The U.S. is active in regional (CITEL) and
international (ITU) coordination efforts
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