The Department of Defense and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have backed a State Department proposal to open the 3300 to 3400 MHz spectrum band for 5G mobile services in the Americas region.
NTIA said Monday the State Department is submitting the proposal to the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission for discussion during CITEL’s upcoming meeting in Mexico City.
The CITEL would then submit the regional proposal to the World Radiocommunications Conference to be held in the United Arab Emirates in November.
If adopted by the WRC-23, the international Radio Regulations would be amended to identify the band for 5G use in the Americas.
“By State Department submitting this proposal, the U.S. government is seeking to protect critical operations and capabilities while also use of the 3300-to-3400 megaband — or megahertz band for 5G mobile services by countries that wish to do so,” DOD press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a separate statement.
“Electromagnetic spectrum access in all bands remains essential to DOD operations as we conduct our national security mission worldwide,” Ryder added.
