Notre Dame to host listening session on national radio spectrum strategy

On Tuesday, April 11, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a listening session at the University of Notre Dame to garner broad input about future spectrum allocations. The listening session is open to the general public, to attend as well as to potentially speak, and will take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the Patricia George Decio Theatre at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Local and state policymakers and regional industry leaders are especially encouraged to participate as speakers.

NTIA seeks feedback on future airwaves for innovative technologies; SpectrumX to host a listening session at the University of Notre Dame

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Wednesday began seeking comment on identifying airwaves for more intensive use and innovative new uses by both the private sector and federal agencies.

NTIA’s National Spectrum Strategy Request for Comment seeks input on creating a spectrum pipeline for the next decade of frequencies that could be studied for new or additional uses. The agency’s goal is to identify at least 1,500 megahertz of spectrum to study for potential repurposing – perhaps the most ambitious study goal for NTIA to date – to meet future requirements for non-federal and federal users.

SpectrumX leadership participate in URSI National Radio Science Meeting

In early January, radio science researchers from across the United States and beyond came together for the National Radio Science Meeting (NRSM) at the University of Colorado Boulder. The meeting was attended by six SpectrumX members, who hosted workshops and participated in multiple panel discussions. The NRSM is sponsored by the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Radio Science.

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From hosting organization New America:

Please join FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington, as well as a panel that includes representatives of the two U.S. industry leaders (Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink) and noted policy experts, to discuss the key regulatory debates that will shape the industry’s future.

Keynote Remarks:

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks
Federal Communications Commission

Commissioner Nathan Simington
Federal Communications Commission

Discussion Panel:

Julie Zoller
Head of Global Regulatory Affairs, Amazon’s Project Kuiper

David Goldman
Senior Director of Satellite Policy, SpaceX

Whitney Lohmeyer
Assistant Professor of Engineering, Olin College of Engineering

Harold Feld
Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge

William Webb

William is CTO at Access Partnership. He was one of the founding directors of Neul, a company developing machine-to-machine technologies and networks, which was formed at the start of 2011 and became CEO of the Weightless SIG, a body standardizing IoT technology. Prior to this William was a Director at Ofcom where he managed a team providing technical advice and performing research. He has worked for a range of communications consultancies and spent three years providing strategic management across Motorola’s entire communications portfolio, based in Chicago. He was IET President 2014-2015.

William has published 17 books, 100 papers, and 18 patents. He is a Visiting Professor at Southampton University, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE and the IET. He has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates by the UK’s leading universities and in 2018 was awarded the IET’s prestigious Mountbatten Medal for technology entrepreneurship.

Charla Rath

Charla Rath is current co-chair of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory

Committee (CSMAC) and former Verizon Vice President – Wireless Policy Development. At Verizon, Charla was responsible for developing and managing the company’s public policy initiatives related to spectrum management, particularly focusing on alternative spectrum auction mechanisms and sources of spectrum for next generation wireless networks, including 5G. Previously at Verizon Wireless, alongside the company’s business development and network planning groups, Charla identified and addressed the key policy and regulatory issues that enabled Verizon Wireless to secure a nationwide spectrum footprint.

Prior to joining Verizon Wireless, Charla was Vice President – Strategic Affiliations, of NextWave Telecom Inc. and Vice President of Freedom Technologies, Inc., a Washington, DC-based telecommunications consulting firm.

Charla also served as advisor to FCC Chairman Alfred C. Sikes on common carrier and spectrum policy issues and as a primary specialist in spectrum and internet policy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Charla has an MA in science, technology, and public policy from The George Washington University and a BSFS (Foreign Service) in international economics and finance from Georgetown University.

Janice Obuchowski

Ms. Janice Obuchowski is President, CEO, and founder of Freedom Technologies.  She has held several leadership positions in the United States government and the private sector.  She was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate to serve as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce (NTIA), where she led Executive Branch advocacy for passage of spectrum auction legislation.  She was also appointed to be United States Ambassador to the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where she successfully spearheaded the U.S. push for international Wi-Fi adoption.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Obuchowski held several positions at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including Senior Advisor to the Chairman. She was also an executive at NYNEX (now Verizon) and practiced private antitrust law.

Ms. Obuchowski serves or has served on several boards of directors, including Qualcomm (NASDAQ), Stratos Global (formerly a Bell Canada subsidiary, TSE), CSG International (NASDAQ), Inmarsat (LSE), and Orbital ATK (NYSE).

NOTABLE POSITIONS AND AWARDS INCLUDE:

  • Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal
  • Trustee of Mount St. Mary’s University, as well as other educational institutions and not for profit organizations
  • Member of the Commerce Department’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC)
  • Elected Trustee of the Federal Communications Bar Association
  • Polish American of the Year 2005
  • Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program
  • World Economic Forum “Global Leader for Tomorrow”
  • Roman Catholic Order of Malta

Ms. Obuchowski earned a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was honored as Alumna of the Year in 2005.  She also attended the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France, and graduated with Honors from Wellesley College.