To express the sense of Congress regarding the reallocation of government spectrum.

1. Adds SEC. ___. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SPECTRUM REALLOCATION wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. ___. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SPECTRUM REALLOCATION.

   Inserted: It is the sense of Congress that--

   Inserted: (1) the Nation's mobile communications industry is a significant economic engine, by one estimate directly or indirectly supporting 3,800,000 jobs, or 2.6 percent of all United States employment, contributing $195,500,000,000 to the United States gross domestic product and driving $33,000,000,000 in productivity improvements in 2011;

   Inserted: (2) while wireless carriers are continually implementing new and more efficient technologies and techniques to maximize their existing spectrum capacity, there is a pressing need for additional spectrum for commercial mobile broadband services, with one report predicting that global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold between 2011 and 2016 at a compound annual growth rate of 78 percent, reaching 10.8 exabytes per month by 2016;

   Inserted: (3) as the Nation faces the current spectrum shortage, consideration should be given to both the supply of spectrum for licensed networks and for unlicensed devices;

   Inserted: (4) while this additional demand can be met in part by reallocating spectrum from existing non-governmental uses, the reallocation of Federal Government spectrum for commercial use must also be part of the solution, given that, according to a 2012 Government Accountability Office study, the percentage of the most highly valued spectrum, that below 3700 MHz, used exclusively or predominantly by the Federal Government ranges from approximately 39 percent to 57 percent with exclusive Government use accounting for 18 percent of the total amount of spectrum below 3700 MHz;

   Inserted: (5) The Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration should also provide replacement spectrum to federal users before spectrum is reallocated.

   Inserted: (6) existing law ensures that Federal operations are not harmed as a result of a reallocation of spectrum for commercial use, including through the establishment of the Spectrum Relocation Fund to reimburse Federal users for the costs of planning and implementing relocation and, with respect to spectrum vacated by the Department of Defense, certification by the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that replacement spectrum provides comparable technical characteristics to restore essential military capability;

   Inserted: (7) wherever possible, Federal Government spectrum identified for commercial use should be reallocated for such use;

   Inserted: (8) realizing sharing is currently proposed as a possible long-term solution, federal government users should, to the extent practicable, explore how to best implement it to alleviate a lack of a variable bandwidth;

   Inserted: (9) among existing Federal Government bands, the spectrum between 1755-1780 MHz is particularly well-suited for reallocation to commercial use because it is identified internationally for commercial mobile services and is used for that purpose throughout most of the world and because it is immediately adjacent to existing domestic wireless spectrum and would fit seamlessly into the current mobile broadband spectrum portfolio allowing for more immediate equipment development and deployment;

   Inserted: (9) among existing Federal Government bands, certain frequencies and allocations are more well suited for reallocated to commercial use because it is identified internationally for commercial mobile services;

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   Inserted: (10) consistent with the March 2012 National Telecommunications and Information Administration report "An Assessment of the Viability of Accommodating Wireless Broadband in the 1755-1850 MHz Band", the Department of Defense should prepare a long term plan in consultation with relevant agencies and private sector stakeholders to determine equitable outcomes for the Nation in relation to spectrum use that balances the private sector's demand for spectrum with national security needs;

   Inserted: (11) The Secretary of Defense should determine the feasibility of relocating to the extent practicable in the 1755-1780 MHz and the General Accountability Office should review the analysis performed; and

   Inserted: (12) if feasibility is shown by the Department of Defense and the General Accountability Office, the Federal communications Commission should consider reallocating this band to commerical use.

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed