President Kathy Sherman-Morris
Earlier this month, the National Weather Association joined 12 other weather, water and Earth science organizations in filing a comment with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to urge them to vacate efforts to proceed with final rulemaking to share the 1675-1680 MHz radio spectrum with NOAA’s GOES-R series satellites. The NWA also joined our colleague organizations to call for a stay to the April 2020 FCC decision authorizing operation of a terrestrial radio network near GPS. This is not the first time we have written to the FCC and Congress on these topics. The NWA previously signed on to letters to Congress and to President Biden in April 2021 and 2022.
To help us understand this issue and how it affects NWA members, I recently posed some questions to two experts, both of whom have been instrumental in helping to advocate for the weather, water and Earth science community—Renee Leduc and Jordan Gerth. Renee Leduc is founder and principal at Narayan Strategy, a policy consultancy focused on weather and aerospace. Renee is also the recipient of the 2021 AMS Kenneth C. Spengler Award for her work on radio spectrum management issues. Dr. Jordan Gerth is a physical scientist at National Weather Service’s Observations Office and an honorary fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center. He is also the chair of the American Meteorological Society Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations.
Why should the weather community be concerned about this or why should they pay attention?
As meteorologists who work in diverse roles across the weather enterprise, one commonality between us is a shared reliance on numerous observing technologies, from satellites to radiosondes to streamgages. One commonality between them is a reliance on a silent yet valuable resource that many of us don't think about very often–radio frequency spectrum. However, there is only a finite amount of spectrum available. Furthermore, it is increasingly important to numerous technologies in our lives, from cell phones to Wi-Fi, as well as sounding instruments, data buoys and radars. The increased demand for spectrum, and the importance of technology to national and global economies, has really increased the stakes for the meteorological community to continue to be able to use its required spectrum to sustain and advance Earth observations. An added reality is that spectrum has become so valuable to telecommunications that the FCC now auctions it, raising billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury.
NOAA, NASA, DoD and other federal agencies have been asked to consolidate their "footprint" of spectrum use to allow others to use the spectrum the agency has vacated –for example, when an auction last decade funded the redesign of radiosondes to operate from a different spectral area. However, the meteorological community cannot easily redesign and redeploy its environmental satellites in orbit. In addition, key inputs for numerical weather prediction come from "passive sensing bands" that, for example, measure the movement of water molecules in the atmosphere. Those spectrum bands can't be moved. And, if there is interference, the information is lost.
What do you think are the potential solutions for the next five years?
There are not easy, immediate solutions, in part because satellite missions typically take five or more years to design and launch, and technological demands for high-rate wireless connections are only increasing as the number of connected devices and applications increases. Spectrum conflicts are likely in the next five years and beyond. As excellent science communicators, NWA members can help inform the public about the value of radio spectrum for meteorology. People are curious about 5G. We can channel that curiosity into fact-based reporting on the value of spectrum for important societal benefits. Radio spectrum is –weather satellite data are –the basis for accurate mid-range weather forecasts.
This is not just one band, one conflict, or one issue and there is a risk that weather forecasts may be less consistent if interference becomes widespread in American cities, or other cities around the globe.
What would you recommend to NWA members who want to do something about this issue?
As demand for spectrum increases, it becomes more and more important to clearly quantify and communicate the value of weather forecasts. We need to share our knowledge with policymakers, government officials and our communities about why spectrum-reliant weather technologies are critical to save lives, property and economies from severe weather, floods, wildfires and many other hazards.
What can we do as meteorologists? Get involved. Do you have a specific weather technology that relies on spectrum that is critical to your job? Do you have a specific experience where a specific technology or observation was crucial in a hazard situation and made all the difference? These stories matter and can really help to educate policymakers on highly technical spectrum allocation issues. If you have an idea for a story, drop an email to Renee Leduc at renee@narayanstrategy.com and she can work with you to get it assembled and used by the weather enterprise to clarify why spectrum is so crucial to weather forecasting.
For more information about this issue, you can watch Renee’s presentation from this year’s NWA meeting in Pittsburgh, as well as interviews with Renee and Jordan, conducted by Betsy Kling at the 2021 NWA meeting in Tulsa.
