Peter Tenhula

Silicon Flatirons — Senior Fellow, Spectrum Policy Initiative



Peter Tenhula retired from federal government service in 2021, having worked for nearly 25 years at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). From 2014 to April 2021, Peter served as Deputy Associate Administrator in NTIA’s Office of Spectrum Management (OSM). He also served as the Chair of the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). Prior to joining OSM, Peter was a Senior Advisor in NTIA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary. Before joining NTIA in 2012, Mr. Tenhula worked at Shared Spectrum Company (SSC), serving as the company’s vice president and general counsel. While at SSC, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wireless Innovation Forum and chaired its Regulatory Committee. From 1990 to 2006, Peter held several positions at the FCC, including Acting Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, director and co-director of the Spectrum Policy Task Force, Senior Legal Advisor to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Special Counsel to General Counsel William Kennard, and staff attorney in the Office of General Counsel and the Mass Media Bureau. He received his undergraduate degree in telecommunications from Indiana University, Bloomington, and earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

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