Navy CIO Jane Rathbun Concerned About Wireless Spectrum Allocation

Determining the best way to share wireless spectrum with an industry thirsty for more is a key concern for the top U.S. Navy IT official.

Jane Rathbun, Navy chief information officer, said Thursday at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit that the service needs to ensure its warfighters have the spectrum resources they need. Wireless spectrum is the invisible pipeline that carries data and information, connecting Navy personnel, platforms and systems across its air, maritime, ground, space and cyber realms.

“Spectrum isn’t infinite, we can’t sell it all off,” Rathbun said. The official is a two-time winner of the Wash100 Award, GovCon’s highest honor.

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Spectrum-On-Demand Access

The Navy’s operational capabilities require flexible spectrum-on-demand access to meet current and future mission-critical spectrum operations. Arthur DeLeon, Navy strategic spectrum policy director, said in CHIPS magazine that spectrum efficiency is becoming more crucial as competition for certain frequency bands optimal for voice and data communications grows more intense.

The wireless industry is certainly clamoring for the federal government to make more wireless spectrum available. Laurent Therivel, UScellular president and CEO, said that the Federal Communications Commission hasn’t been able to auction spectrum since early 2023, limiting U.S. technology innovation and potentially ceding wireless leadership to China.

Wireless technology is critical to economic prosperity and national security, Therivel said, and the longer this gap in spectrum authority continues, U.S. leadership in a variety of industries is at greater risk. Therivel predicted late last year that Congress would act to reauthorize the FCC’s auction authority and direct the agency to allocate spectrum, specifically mid-band, to support the evolving needs of “customer and communities.”

Navy’s Information Superiority Vision 2.0

Ensuring access to needed wireless spectrum is a key part of the U.S. Navy’s Information Superiority Vision 2.0. The strategy says the service must leverage advanced and emerging technology and collaborate with industry and maritime stakeholders to dynamically share needed spectrum and build spectrum agile systems. The service must also vigorously advocate for its position on spectrum in all forums.

DeLeon said the Navy must address congressional and White House efforts regarding spectrum repurposing and make sure service priorities are fully considered in top-level decision making. Such actions, including auctions, must not erode the Navy’s capabilities or impede its ability to employ and evolve future wireless technologies, he said.

“The Department of the Navy is committed to improving spectrum efficiency, but it is not a one-sided federal issue,” DeLeon said. “We must also assess the efficiency of commercial spectrum usage to enable the most successful holistic outcomes in spectrum management and sharing.”

FCC’s Latest Spectrum Auction

The FCC announced on March 11 that it was planning an auction, called Auction 113, of 200 spectrum licenses. These are in the 1695-1710, 1755-1780 and 2155-2180 megahertz, or MHz,  bands, collectively known as the AWS-3 bands. The FCC also sought public comment on auction procedures, which were due by April 25. The Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovations Act of 2024 directed the FCC to initiate a system of competitive bidding to grant licenses of unassigned AWS-3 spectrum in its inventory as of Dec. 23 within 18 months of that date.

Auction proceeds will support the FCC’s Supply Chain Reimbursement Program, which will reimburse eligible providers for their costs to remove, replace and dispose of Huawei Technologies or ZTE equipment and services obtained before June 30, 2020.

The FCC in President Donald Trump’s second term promises to make more wireless spectrum available to industry. Chairman Brenden Carr said in an April 4 blog post that the commission will look to update rules in Ka- and Ku-band frequencies that support the next-generation of mega satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit. The FCC will also consider establishing a new licensing framework for the lower 37 gigahertz, or GHz, band, which may be used to support services such as fixed wireless broadband and the Internet of Things.

The Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Cyber Summit on May 15 at the Marriott Fairview Park in Falls Church, Virginia, will be a gathering of the brightest minds in GovCon cybersecurity and wireless spectrum. You’ll have the chance to build meaningful connections with C-suite executives and public-sector innovators. Let your new relationships unlock additional opportunities for you and your business. Don’t miss out!