- Conference Video Playlist
- Pre-Conference Primer Slides—Spectrum Sharing and Interference Resolution
- Day One Keynote Remarks—Austin Bonner, White House OSTP
- Day Two Keynote Slides—Thomas Rondeau, DoD (OUSD(R&E))
- Recommended Actions or Next Steps—Slides from Outbriefs Panel
- Conference Transcript
- Conference Outcomes Report
Resolving Interference Conflicts among “Highest and Best” Uses of the Radio Spectrum
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Radio spectrum allocation and policy battles often result in extended and recurring fights among competing, incompatible uses and users. Stakeholders employ all sorts of tactics to demonstrate to policymakers how their service or technology reflects the “highest and best” use of scarce spectrum resources whether such uses are, to name a few, for: commercial mobile and fixed wireless broadband services (licensed and unlicensed); national security and defense; public safety and law enforcement; global satellite communications; or scientific purposes. A frequent area of dispute often centers around allegations of “harmful interference” between competing new and incumbent uses. Many of these allegations point to faulty, inefficient, or unregulated receiver technology as a core problem. Others blame ineffective domestic and international institutional and governance regimes for making sound spectrum policy decisions.
In light of a new FCC inquiry into receiver performance (driven in part by prior Silicon Flatiron efforts) and national headlines surrounding such allegations involving, for example, interference between existing aircraft radar altimeters and new 5G services in “C-Band” spectrum, the conference will explore the policy, legal, institutional, technical, economic, and social conflicts that may arise when multiple interests collide over access to spectrum resources. Keynote speeches, panel discussions, and breakout sessions will produce a lively, professional debate among key experts and stakeholders that have been on the front lines of these spectrum battlefields and the quest for improved receiver performance.
On March 21, 2022, Silicon Flatirons convened an invitation-only roundtable in Washington DC to discuss the state of interference resolution policy, identify areas for attention, and suggest possible solutions. The roundtable report identifies several key themes and findings from the discussions that inform our agenda. Following up on the roundtable discussion, the fall spectrum conference will take a deeper dive into the prevalent tensions that characterize interference disputes, how they came about, why they have been exacerbated, what could have been done to prevent them, what technologies or standards may help resolve recurring issues, and what realistic and actionable solutions should be pursued.
*Breakout sessions will not be livestreamed, as participants will agree to candidly engage under the “Chatham House Rule”. Media are welcome to attend breakout sessions in-person, however all comments made by participants during said sessions will be considered off the record.
Sessions
Pre-Conference Primer: Lunch
@ Wolf Law, Room 206
Light lunch from Nopalito’s provided for registrants, courtesy of Silicon Flatirons. Grab a bite on your way into room 206.
Pre-Conference Primer: Spectrum Sharing and Interference Resolution
@ Wolf Law Building, Room 206
- Dale Hatfield — Presenter
Spectrum Policy Initiative Co-director and Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons - David Reed — Presenter
Senior Fellow, Spectrum Policy Initiative, Silicon Flatirons
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- Dale Hatfield
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- David Reed
Day One Welcome & Introduction
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom
- Keith Gremban
Spectrum Policy Initiative Co-director, Silicon Flatirons
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- Dr. Keith Gremban
Keynote
- Austin Bonner
Assistant Director for Spectrum & Telecom Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
Break
Root Causes of Interference Conflicts
- David Redl — Moderator
Founder and CEO, Salt Point Strategies - Jordan Gerth — Panelist
Honorary Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison - Greg Guice — Panelist
Director of Government Affairs, Public Knowledge - Tom Power — Panelist
Senior VP/General Counsel, CTIA - Jennifer Warren — Panelist
Vice President, Civil & Regulatory Affairs, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Panelists will focus on common triggers and pervasive issues from policy, legal, institutional, and societal perspectives, including discussions of topics such as (a) the history and purpose behind the dual framework for spectrum management in the U.S., (b) recent and ongoing interference disputes, (c) outcomes and potential resolutions, and (d) other ways of addressing the root causes of such conflicts including policy options related to receiver performance concerns.
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- David Redl
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- Dr. Jordan Gerth
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- Greg Guice
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- Tom Power
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- Jennifer Warren
Break
Technical, Economic and Regulatory Solutions to Interference Conflicts
- Nick Laneman — Moderator
Center Director, SpectrumX - Albin Gasiewski — Panelist
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder - Derek Khlopin — Panelist
Deputy Associate Administrator for Spectrum Planning and Policy Office of Spectrum Management (OSM), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Office of Spectrum Management - Jennifer A. Manner — Panelist
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, EchoStar Corporation - Melissa Midzor — Panelist
National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASCTN) Program Manager | Division Chief, Spectrum Technology & Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Panelists will delve into proposed engineering, market-oriented, and regulatory options for resolving recurring disputes and discuss topics such as (a) identifying and improving availability of timely and relevant technical information, (b) ensuring scientific integrity and use of good engineering practices, (c) assessing costs and benefits of technical standards and other options related to receiver performance, (d) exploring negotiated approaches and bargaining opportunities, and (e) other ways of developing acceptable interference protection criteria and compatibility assessments.
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- Nick Laneman
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- Albin Gasiewski
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- Derek Khlopin
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- Jennifer A. Manner
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- Melissa Midzor
Lunch Break
A catered lunch will be provided onsite for registered attendees and speakers.
Breakout Sessions
After lunch, two concurrent breakout discussions will take place, giving interested and informed community members and experts in the spectrum policy space a fuller opportunity to *candidly engage (under the “Chatham House Rule”) and develop recommended actionable solutions. The discussions will be facilitated by panel moderators David Redl and Nick Laneman, with assistance from CU students and Silicon Flatirons fellows.
*Breakout sessions will not be livestreamed. Attendees and media are welcome to attend breakout sessions in-person, however all comments made by participants during said sessions will be considered off the record.
Break
Breakout Sessions (continued)
Continuation of two breakout sessions.
Day Two Welcome & Introduction
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom
- Keith Gremban
Spectrum Policy Initiative Co-director, Silicon Flatirons
Day Two Keynote
- Thomas Rondeau
Principle Director for FutureG/5G, United States Department of Defense, Office of the Under the Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering
Break
Recommendations Outbriefs
- Peter Tenhula — Moderator
Senior Fellow, Spectrum Policy Initiative, Silicon Flatirons - Nick Laneman — Presenter
Center Director, SpectrumX - David Redl — Presenter
Founder and CEO, Salt Point Strategies
The two breakout group facilitators from day one (with assistance from their student rapporteurs) will report out from the breakout sessions on the 2–3 recommended actions or next steps that their groups developed.
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- Peter Tenhula
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- Nick Laneman
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- David Redl
Break
Conference Wrap-Up
- Anna Gomez — Moderator
- David Goldman — Panelist
Director of Satellite Policy, SpaceX - Julius Knapp — Panelist
Former Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology (retired), Federal Communications Commission - Paul Kolodzy — Panelist
Independent Telecommunications Consultant, Kolodzy Consulting - Jonathan Williams — Panelist
Program Director, Electromagnetic Spectrum Management, Astronomical Sciences Division, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Closing session of the conference. The participants from the day one breakout sessions and the two breakout facilitators will react, respond, expand upon, clarify, dissent from, and/or comment on the suggested recommendations presented during the previous panel.
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- Anna Gomez
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- David Goldman
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- Julius Knapp
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- Paul Kolodzy
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- Jonathan Williams
Thank You and Closing
- Keith Gremban
Spectrum Policy Initiative Co-director, Silicon Flatirons
To Go Lunch
Boxed/to go lunch will be available for registered attendees and speakers to take upon leaving Wolf Law.