{"slug": "adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a", "title": "Adam Jay Harrison: The FCC Just Showed Why Spectrum Must Be Managed Like A Reservoir", "summary": "The FCC voted in October to advance an auction of 25 megahertz in the 1675-1695 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz bands for direct-to-device satellite service and sought comment on opening another 482 megahertz for supplemental coverage from space, expanding eligible bands from five to 13, while a separate order removed a rule barring drones from the 800 MHz cellular band. Adam Jay Harrison, writing in an expert-opinion piece, argues that spectrum should be managed like a reservoir — with conservation and AI-driven electromagnetic spectrum management, physics-based modeling and real-time sensor data enabling automated sharing — as the global direct-to-device market is expected to grow from $1 billion in 2026 to $15 billion by 2036, according to Meticulous Research.", "body_md": "[Expert Opinion](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/tag/expert-opinion/)\n\n# Adam Jay Harrison: The FCC Just Showed Why Spectrum Must Be Managed Like A Reservoir\n\nAs satellite services and drones intensify competition for spectrum, AI-driven monitoring and sharing could help\n\n#### [Adam Jay Harrison](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/author/adam-jay-harrison/)\n\nIn October, the FCC voted to advance an auction of 25 megahertz in the 1675-1695 MegaHertz (MHz) and 2020-2025 MHz bands for direct-to-device satellite service. It also sought comment on opening another 482 megahertz for supplemental coverage from space, which would expand the eligible bands from five to 13. A separate order removed a rule that kept drones out of the 800 MHz cellular band.\n\nThese votes signal growing competition for spectrum as satellite-to-phone services, drones and other emerging technologies place new demands on a rapidly diminishing resource. For context, the global D2D market is expected to soar from $1 billion in 2026 to $15 billion by 2036, according to Meticulous Research.\n\nSpectrum is like a reservoir serving a growing population. Adding more pipes is only part of the answer. To manage this resource properly, we need to emphasize conservation as much as allocation. This includes understanding how spectrum is being used, reducing waste and enabling intelligent sharing so the capacity we have can support more people and services.\n\nThis latest development means satellite operators and drone makers are being invited into spectrum that already has licensees. A license dictates who may use a frequency in a given place, not how much frequency is in use on a rural tower at 3 a.m. Regulators have historically answered demand by opening new bands to commercial use, but spectrum supply is finite and shuffling authorizations around like real estate will not address the underlying scarcity problem.\n\nSharing is an obvious alternative, but this is tricky because sharing is guesswork without the right data. If regulators and service providers lack visibility into usage patterns, they must assume the worst case and leave valuable spectrum unused. And if a satellite operator or drone fleet cannot see what else is on the air, they must seek permission through slow, manual processes. Waste accrues over time.\n\nFortunately, the technology to replace those processes exists. By combining AI, physics-based modeling and real-time sensor data, commercial operators and government agencies can map the spectrum environment, orchestrate who uses what and share bands without causing interference. The solution lies in AI-driven electromagnetic spectrum management, situational awareness and automated coordination.\n\nFor years, demand to revolutionize how spectrum is managed and accessed has come from defense and government users for whom navigating in contested and congested spectrum is a national security imperative. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, which has highlighted the vulnerabilities of military wireless services to jamming, these calls have reached a crescendo in military circles.\n\nPressure to maximize spectrum availability for commercial and civilian uses put carriers, satellite companies and drone operators in the same position. FCC policy fueled by political tailwinds now assumes sharing at a scale that requires real-time measurement, a live picture of what is on the air and coordination at machine speed.\n\nHere are a few examples that frame the benefits of a thoughtful spectrum management infrastructure optimized for growing demand:\n\n### *A carrier leasing to a satellite partner*\n\nUnder the supplemental coverage framework, a wireless carrier lets a satellite operator use part of its spectrum to reach phones in remote areas. Today the lease terms tend to rest on conservative assumptions about interference. A platform that maps actual usage by location and time of day could show the carrier where and when it has room to spare. The carrier could offer more capacity to its satellite partner, and the partner could serve more customers, without a single new license.\n\n### *A drone fleet in the 800 MHz band*\n\nA delivery or inspection operator now has legal access to a band full of cellular traffic. Flying there safely means knowing what the network is doing along each route, not just what the license table says. Live, sensor-fed situational awareness could let the fleet adjust routes or power as conditions change.\n\n### *An auction winner facing incumbents* \n\nNew bands come with coordination requirements for existing users. A company that wins licenses in the 1675-1695 MHz range will want to get from license to service quickly. Automated coordination could handle the exchange of information with incumbents in minutes, shortening the time to earn revenue.\n\nLawmakers and regulators in the U.S. plan to make up to 400 megahertz of spectrum available for commercial use through auction by 2028, including spectrum in the sought-after 2.7 GHz and 7 GHz bands. But a country that spends tens of billions of dollars on spectrum and then lets a large share of that capacity sit idle has made a poor trade. Conservation is the cheaper half of the strategy. As the philosopher (**Tony Soprano**) said, “Buy land, AJ, ’cause God ain’t making any more of it.” \n\nUsable spectrum is scarce, and access determines who can operate. An instrumented, observable, and measurable spectrum makes this limited resource work harder by optimizing for use and not just ownership.\n\n*Adam Jay Harrison is Chief Executive Officer of Xtremis, an advanced technology company developing electromagnetic spectrum awareness and intelligence capabilities. A defense technology entrepreneur, inventor, and architect of the modern US defense innovation enterprise, he previously served as Senior Innovation Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, Command Innovation Officer of U.S. Army Futures Command, and inaugural director of the Department of Defense's MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator (now National Security Innovation Network). Harrison founded Mav6, a three-time Inc. fastest-growing company honoree. He is also a faculty member and Distinguished Entrepreneur in Residence at Vanderbilt University. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.*\n\n*Broadband Breakfast accepts commentary from informed observers of the broadband scene. Please send pieces to* *commentary@breakfast.media**. The views expressed in Expert Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Broadband Breakfast and Breakfast Media LLC.*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a", "canonical_source": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a-reservoir/", "published_at": "2026-11-11 16:09:13+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-11-11 16:24:21.953045+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["FCC", "Adam Jay Harrison", "Meticulous Research"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/adam-jay-harrison-the-fcc-just-showed-why-spectrum-must-be-managed-like-a.jsonld"}}