Spectrum Compliance Special Interest Area.

In December of 2003, a new Special Interest Area (SIA) for the Spectrum Compliance community was launched on the Acquisition Community Connection (ACC) Web site at <http://acc.dau.mil/sc>. The intent of the SIA was to provide a forum where the acquisition community could access information about statutory requirements and guidance on spectrum issues that need to be addressed during the acquisition cycle. The primary focus of the SIA is on early consideration of spectrum in order to preclude cost and schedule impacts during late acquisition phases.

Each day, the military relies on spectrum-dependent technologies to complete its missions. From radars, sensors, and satellites to radios and wireless devices, these technologies make information superiority a reality and are an integral part of military operations; many factors are at play in this dynamic and changing environment. The physics of the radio frequency spectrum mean that certain frequencies are better suited for certain applications and that interference between systems must be considered. In addition to the physics are the legislative, regulatory, and market forces that drive the spectrum topology. The demand for spectrum is high worldwide, and allocations for spectrum vary from country to country. The Department of Defense (DoD) has a process in place to certify systems. On the national level, systems must go through a process that includes not just DoD users, but all of the users of government spectrum; internationally, each country of intended operation must be addressed.

DoD policy requires that developers of spectrum-dependent systems obtain spectrum certification before assumption of contractual obligations for full-scale development, production, or procurement. Early attention to spectrum issues is critical in spectrum-dependent systems, to mitigate risk and to properly address spectrum supportability and electromagnetic compatibility. The failure to plan for spectrum dependency in the research and development stages--and the resulting discovery of spectrum-related problems shortly before deployment--have produced delays, cost overruns, and in some cases, useless (and very expensive) systems that cannot be fixed for combat operations.

The Spectrum SIA is seeking to build its core base of participatory users within the spectrum member community, and to provide detailed guidance aimed at addressing some of the priority issues and needs facing its membership.