NTIA Names Some New Spectrum Advisors

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration has named new members to its Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), which features private and nonprofit stakeholders providing advice to the head of NTIA, who is currently Lawrence Strickling, on technical and policy issues, like spectrum sharing. Those include representatives of Dish, Verizon and Public Knowledge

NTIA oversees government spectrum holders and has been charged with finding spectrum that can be freed up for wireless broadband through reallocation or sharing.

Committee members are appointed to two-year terms.

The issues the committee will be looking at going forward, according to NTIA, include "how to update enforcement tools for new, more dynamic forms of sharing; how agencies can best quantify their actual spectrum use; spectrum management via access to databases; providing [the] government greater flexibility and options through access to non-federal bands; and paying for costs of spectrum sharing when there is no auction."

The new members are Audrey L. Allison, director of frequency management services, for Boeing; Michael S. Chartier, director of spectrum technology at Intel's public policy group; Harold Feld SVP of public policy at Public Knowledge; Dr. Paul Kolodzy, an independent telecommunications consultant; Dr. Robert Kubik, director of communications policy and regulatory affairs for Samsung Electronics America; Dr. Giulia McHenry, an associate with The Brattle Group; Charla Rath, VP of wireless policy development at Verizon; Dr. Jeffrey H. Reed, director of wireless at Virginia Tech; Kurt Schaubach, VP and CTO, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative; Steve Sharkey, senior director, chief engineering and technology policy in T-Mobile’s government affairs office; Mariam Sorond, VP of technology development for DISH.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.