Redl Expected to Help Trump Administration Develop National Spectrum Policy
David Redl, once he finally takes office as NTIA administrator, is expected to help the Trump administration articulate its spectrum policy more clearly. The White House has been mostly quiet so far, especially compared with the Obama administration. The Donald Trump White House is expected to be more skeptical about sharing, favoring exclusive-use licenses, but hasn't released position statements (see 1706090053). One factor that should help Redl is that he used to work with, and is considered close to, Grace Koh, who has been at the White House since February as special assistant to the president for technology, telecom and cybersecurity policy, though someone higher in the administration also will have to take an interest for spectrum to rise higher on the list of Trump priorities, industry officials said.
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Redl “has been at the center of federal spectrum policy for years,” said Tom Power, CTIA general counsel, a former Obama White House and NTIA official. “He was there for the 2012 Spectrum Act, he was there for the 2015 Spectrum Pipeline Act. He was instrumental to the success of the AWS-3 auction.” Redl understands the challenges of other government agencies and the perspective of the Office of Management and Budget and Congress, Power said: “It's going to be a huge plus for spectrum policy.” CTIA hopes to see greater focus on spectrum for 5G.
“It’s hard to have policy as related to government spectrum” without an NTIA administrator, said Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten. Redl “has been part of this debate for a really long time, he knows the ins and outs,” Wallsten said. “He’ll be really important in helping [the administration] set a policy.”
Gigi Sohn, aide to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, agreed having an administrator is key to developing a broader policy. “Not having someone at the top of NTIA has been really harmful for a cohesive spectrum policy in this administration,” she said. Wheeler and former Administrator Larry Strickling worked together very closely on crafting an Obama administration policy, Sohn said. NTIA has an ability to work with other parts of the administration, from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Agriculture, because the agency is part of the executive branch, she said. “They have more of an ability to kind of herd the cats.”
Redl comes to the job with more experience in the “intergovernmental spectrum negotiation world than any other prior administrator,” said John Kneuer, NTIA administrator under former President George W. Bush. Redl “ran point on the Hill” on a number of key spectrum issues, he said. Redl does face an adjustment period, Kneuer said. “He in a very real way has got to be the agency’s representative, but also the voice of the entire administration,” Kneuer said. “He’s got a broader range of constituencies now. He’s got the agencies, he’s got the administration as a whole, he’s got the secretary of commerce and his role as a key piece of the economic policy engine for the country.”
Redl's “arrival has been anticipated by the White House and [Commerce] Secretary [Wilbur] Ross for quite awhile," said Robert McDowell, senior policy adviser at Mobile Future. "We will now see more policy activity on the spectrum front.”
Redl is likely to take the lead on articulating the administration's overall spectrum policy, said Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge. The Obama administration was unusual in locating spectrum policy so close to the office of the president, Feld told us. “Traditionally, spectrum policy has been handled at the level of NTIA, the FCC and the various impacted departments, such as DOD and [the Department of Homeland Security],” he said. “Redl is extremely familiar with the issues and with the internal [to the federal government] politics of spectrum policy. I would expect him to move quickly to set his mark on the administration's overall spectrum policy.
“I would expect Redl to take early strides on mechanisms to help clear government spectrum for commercial use,” said Doug Brake, senior policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “He has been very articulate on these issues in the past, and clearly understands them well, especially the incremental improvements made available through recent reforms to the Spectrum Relocation Fund.”