By Katy J. Milner , Meredith G. Singer and Sara M. Baxenberg
On August 2, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on radiofrequency spectrum coordination. The new MOU has been anticipated since the announcement of the Spectrum Coordination Initiative between the two agencies in February of this year. Established under the leadership of FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson, the Spectrum Coordination Initiative is intended to "strengthen the processes for decision making and information sharing and to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues." With respect to the MOU in particular, the objective was to "update the nearly twenty-year-old Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies to address gaps in government coordination and to better reflect today's spectrum opportunities and challenges."