This article by Charles Baylis and Robert J. Marks is reprinted from Newsmax.

The spectrum used for wireless communication and radar is like a USB thumb drive.

Once full, there’s room for nothing else.

The spectrum is filling up fast.

A solution is needed to mitigate the upcoming spectrum crisis.

Wireless communication relies on spectrum bandwidth to transmit information between senders and receivers.

With the rapid expansion of wireless technology, an increasing number of devices are competing for a limited range of frequencies.

Just 30 years ago, commercial wireless use was in its infancy.

Today, many individuals carry multiple wireless devices, further straining the available spectrum. Compounding the issue, the same frequency bands used for commercial networks also serve critical radar functions.

As the U.S. strives to maintain leadership in 5G and 6G technology while ensuring national security through radar systems required by America’s Iron Dome, a growing conflict has emerged.

The finite nature of spectrum has sparked a national debate on how to balance military and commercial needs while preserving U.S. dominance in both technology and defense.

Winning the Spectrum Race

One way proposed to maintain U.S. superiority is to auction spectrum currently owned by the government to commercial wireless network operators, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

One band under consideration is in the midband, between 3.1 GHz and 3.45 GHz, currently used by defense radar systems in the United States.

Proponents of auctions argue that the sale of this band will invigorate 5G and 6G technology and will allow the United States to build the world’s 6G infrastructure, bringing in money and protecting the U.S. from security concerns from Chinese telecoms firms such as Huawei and ZTE.

Opponents of spectrum auctions state that the Department of Defense requires access to a wide bandwidth of the spectrum in the midband to achieve good radar resolution measurements, while still enabling acceptable propagation distances.

Radar range resolution improves as more bandwidth is used in transmission and reception, meaning that the details of targets are more finely discernable. The opposing arguments present a significant gridlock Are there any more options?

A Better Solution: Spectrum Sharing

Spectrum availability fluctuates over time — what was occupied an hour ago may now be open for use.

To maximize available bandwidth, systems must adapt by shifting frequencies.

However, for this approach to be effective, the systems themselves must also evolve to remain functional and efficient.

The development of adaptive and reconfigurable technology can make flexible spectrum use possible. Adaptive technology can respond to other spectrum users in an environment by changing its own spectrum use.

An electronic system optimized for a given frequency might not be optimal at other frequencies. The change in performance can be striking.

Reconfigurable technology means that the system itself can change its settings to optimize performance when changing frequencies. Adapting and reconfiguring is fueled by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.

Adaptive techniques include the ability to sense current spectrum use and even predict the spectrum use of other devices, selecting frequency ranges in which to best operate. Reconfigurable circuitry and systems can optimize performance after changing frequency to avoid interference.

When a radar changes frequencies, the circuit can redesign itself “on the fly” to ensure maximum detection range is achieved.

While many technology development thrusts focus on 5G and 6G wireless technology, adaptive and reconfigurable technology must be placed in the incumbent DoD systems: the radars.

In this situation, radars must be able to quickly reconfigure (within about a millisecond) while maintaining high power handling and avoiding waveform distortion.

An adaptive and reconfigurable incumbent radar system would (1) loosen the dependence of radar systems on a specific frequency sub-band, and (2) allow radar systems to opportunistically use commercial wireless bands.

The flexibility of these innovative radar systems will allow more access to radar frequencies by wireless communications, and more access to wireless communication frequencies by radar.

Building revolutionary adaptive and reconfigurable technology is used in the U.S. will allow U.S. industry to sell it to other nations, and to build the backbone for the global 6G environment.

This could net billions of dollars for U.S. system manufacturers and suppliers. Additionally, the U.S. military will dominate arguably the most important dimension of battle: the spectrum.

Investing Pays Dividends

To make America first in spectrum, Congress and President Trump should invest in America’s innovative wireless technology developers with a specific directive to realize this paradigm shift to adaptive and reconfigurable technology.

Both DoD and spectrum companies will win. This endeavor will require the collaborative efforts of the defense industry, the wireless industry and American academicians.

Charles Baylis, PhD, is the Director of SMART Hub, a Congressionally funded Spectrum Innovation Center. Dr. Baylis recently testified before the US Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Senator Ted Cruz, on spectrum issues.