Pentagon, White House earmark mid-band spectrum segment for 5G

The US Department of Defense (DoD) and President Donald Trump’s administration have agreed to carve out 100 MHz of contiguous spectrum bandwidth, traditionally used to support advanced military radar, air defence, and battlefield management systems, specifically for the development of commercial 5G cellular communications.

The decision to set aside the large swath of mid-band spectrum bandwidth, set between the 3,450MHz to 3,550 MHz band, for 5G mobile communications was the result of recommendations by the White House’s America’s Mid-Band Initiative Team (AMBIT), a Pentagon statement said on 10 August.

“As part of the US, military's participation, the department established a Mid-Band Spectrum Working Group that included experts in fields such as ship, ground, electronic warfare, test and training capabilities,” Pentagon officials said in the statement. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy, and senior officers from all US armed forces’ service branches were all closely involved in the working group’s efforts and the group’s contributions toAMBIT, the statement said.

During the Pentagon’s assessment of mid-band spectrum capabilities for 5G development, working group members were able to leverage technical work performed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). That work was used “to develop a spectrum-sharing solution that would allow 5G development to progress in the private sector, while at the same time allow the US military to continue to use that spectrum to meet national security requirements”, according to the department’s statement.