Defense Communications

The sale of certain segments of the frequency spectrum to the private sector could have dire consequences for national security, putting at risk military operations ranging from routine peacetime training to major undertakings similar to Operation Desert Storm. Defense communication systems could face interference problems, and new spectrum requirements for information warfare systems could suffer from a lack of needed frequency spectrum. However, the full cost and operational impact from the frequency loss has not been established because spectrum management planning at the Defense Department is fragmented and inadequate.

GAO noted that: (1) national security and cost implications of the federal frequency losses to CEC and other military systems were not fully considered in 1995 and have still not been adequately assessed; (2) the loss of the portion of the frequency spectrum used by CEC could reduce its capability in peacetime training operations and make it incapable of joint (multiservice) operations similar in size to Operation Desert Storm; (3) other current systems could be adversely affected by an increase in mutual interference problems; (4) in addition, new spectrum requirements for information warfare systems could suffer from a lack of needed frequency spectrum; (5) however, the full DOD-wide cost and operational impact from the frequency loss has not been established because spectrum management planning in DOD is fragmented and inadequate; (6) in some instances, prior National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) assessments of requirements and availability of frequency spectrum for transfer to the public could be incomplete because of security issues; (7) security classifications restrict release of pertinent technical information about many DOD programs; (8) as a result, transferred spectrum is threatened by potential interference problems; (9) DOD has cleared key NTIA, FCC, and other federal spectrum personnel to promote better spectrum planning; (10) however, GAO believes more effective and cooperative actions to exchange data and establish commercial standards can be taken by DOD, FCC, and Commerce, thus ensuring that sufficient frequency spectrum is available to operate major national security systems with minimal interference to, and by, commercial systems; and (11) the licensing of frequencies affecting CEC should not begin until DOD has completed an ongoing assessment of its total requirements and reported its finding to the Congress and the President.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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