The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is launching an investigation into the FAA’s communication of spectrum use. The One Big Beautiful Bill passed in July directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction government-owned spectrum to the private sector.
“While such auctions can raise billions of dollars and advance innovation, they reduce the spectrum available for aviation and may increase the risk of interference to safety-critical systems,” the OIG said, noting that the FAA is the manager and largest direct user of the spectrum within the DOT. This includes different frequency bands for air traffic control systems, mobile phones, and other complex communication networks.
While calling for the sale, Congress last year in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 asked for the DOT OIG to on FAA's processes for communicating the position of civil aviation operators and the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS) to NTIA when the latter agency considers spectrum reallocations and decisions. To kick off this month, the audit will look into the FAA’s communications with NTIA on safety risks surrounding spectrum reallocations.
The more recent directive calling for the auction of spectrum has raised concerns from key Democrats, including the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Maria Cantwell (Washington), who reminded Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy of the problems created by the last spectrum reallocation.
“The FAA was forced to issue emergency airworthiness directives, institute flight restrictions around airports nationwide, and nearly ground all commercial flights across the country,” she wrote to Duffy. “Because the safety and effectiveness of the National Airspace System depends on the FAA managing radar, navigation, and safety-critical systems on airplanes, decisions to repurpose federal spectrum must be taken only after the department, the FAA, and industry have validated that any transition can proceed without jeopardizing aviation safety.”