Senators say military spectrum should be protected in shared band

Senate Commerce Committee members said in an Aug. 6 letter that the government should protect military spectrum needs as it prepares for discussions on one shared band.

The letter asked top-ranking officials at the Defense and Commerce departments and the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that U.S. position on the allocation of the 465 MHz in the 5 GHz spectrum band "allows for the growth of high speed wireless networks while addressing the needs of the Department of Defense."

The 5 GHz band currently is in use by the military and unlicensed broadband networks in schools and commercial offices.

Participants in the conference, the letter said, may allocate the entire band for the unlicensed broadband purposes.

The letter signatories were Committee Chairman Ernst (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., ranking Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina.