Review and declassify most (if not all) Federal radio frequency assignment information

A bit of background. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates use of the radio spectrum by non-Federal entities. A little-known agency, Interdepartmental Radiofrequency Advisory Commission (IRAC), part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Commerce Department, regulates Federal use of the radio spectrum. FCC records are public and for the most part accessible online. While a small portion of IRAC's records are accessible through FOIA, most are not public.

The Federal government controls huge chunks of spectrum, and the public has only aggregate and sketchy knowledge as to how it is used. As a public resource, spectrum usage (including specific assignment information indicating which frequencies are used for which purposes in which locations) should be documented and public, except in a very small number of instances that might pose a concrete and documentable challenge to national security. A transparent spectrum assignment and management process would enable interested individuals, organizations and corporations to assess both Federal and non-Federal spectrum usage as a whole; to identify and eliminate wasteful and inefficient use of what is now a limited resource; and, perhaps most important, enable continuing enterpreneurial efforts in the wireless field.

For reasons that are said to be security-related, most Federal radio frequency assignments are either classified or exempt from public release. Though this consideration may at first seem to support a closed database, technology has moved beyond the necessity to conceal or obfuscate specific frequency assignments. All federal agencies (including security agencies and the military) now digitally encrypt sensitive radio transmissions and use other technologies to protect the content of sensitive information.

Information on property ownership and water rights is public and available to all who need it. It is time to treat publicly-owned radio spectrum in the same way.

Why Is This Idea Important?