	IRAC’s Mission and Placement Have Evolved Since 1922

IRAC’s role and placement have evolved over the last 80 years. In 1952, IRAC’s mission was formally expanded  to include responsibilities for formulating and recommending policies,  plans, and actions for federal government spectrum use. Since its  formation, IRAC has advised the different entities responsible for  exercising the authority of the President to assign radio frequencies to  federal government users. By executive order,  in 1978, the Office of Telecommunications Policy was abolished and its  spectrum functions were transferred to the Department of Commerce. As shown in figure 2, IRAC is currently comprised of 20 federal agencies  that use radio spectrum, a chairman and an executive secretary from NTIA,  and FCC as a nonvoting liaison. In addition to the full committee, IRAC mission responsibilities are also  carried out in six standing subcommittees, as well as a number of ad hoc  committees and working groups. IRAC Representatives’ Assessment of IRAC Is Mostly Positive, but Some Are Concerned That an Uneven Level of Technical Knowledge and a Lack of Seniority Limit IRAC’s Effectiveness

IRAC representatives generally agree that IRAC is effective in coordinating  federal government spectrum use but are concerned about training and  succession planning. In our  interviews with IRAC representatives, they generally agreed that IRAC is  effectively accomplishing these spectrum coordination tasks. According to NTIA,  only one agency on IRAC has assigned a member of the senior executive  service as the agency representative to IRAC and 13 of the 20  representatives said that the assistant secretary who oversees spectrum  management in their agency has little or no direct involvement in spectrum  management. He told us that he has gone outside of the  IRAC framework when he needed advice on such contentious policy  issues, such as those related to the introduction of new commercial  communications services. As an advisor representing government spectrum concerns, IRAC must rely  on NTIA to negotiate with FCC in disputes between government and  commercial users over the use of spectrum. Recommendations for Executive Action

In order to improve the effectiveness of IRAC’s contribution in spectrum  management, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce take the  following two actions:   Direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and  Information to seek IRAC’s assistance in establishing a set of best  practices in human capital for agencies that participate in IRAC that  include information on the appropriate knowledge and training levels  for IRAC representatives, goals for continuing education in emerging  technologies, and agency succession planning. The primary difference between the Federal Task Force  recommendation and ours is that the Federal Task Force recommended  that a group of senior agency executives be formed outside of IRAC to  advise on policy issues, and we recommended that the group be formed  within the structure of IRAC. Telecommunications: Federal Communications Commission Spectrum  Management.
Why GAO Did This Study

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce manages the federal government's use of the radio frequency spectrum with coordination and policy input from the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC), comprised of 20 federal agencies that use spectrum. In recent years, the use of spectrum in wireless applications has expanded dramatically, leading occasionally to contentious disputes between government and commercial users over access to spectrum. Considering IRAC's key role in spectrum management, Congress asked us to (1) describe the evolution of IRAC and (2) obtain IRAC agency representatives' assessment of IRAC's spectrum coordination and policy advice, role as an advisor, and whether IRAC needs to be reformed.

What GAO Found

The mission and placement of IRAC have evolved over time. IRAC began in 1922 by assisting in the assignment of frequencies to federal users and coordinating federal government spectrum use. In 1952, IRAC's mission was expanded to include responsibilities for formulating and recommending policies, plans, and actions for federal government spectrum use. Initially advising the Department of Commerce, IRAC has reported to or through various different entities, including at different times the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Office of the President. Since 1978, IRAC has directly advised the Department of Commerce's NTIA. Currently, IRAC is comprised of a full committee, six standing subcommittees, and various ad hoc committees and working groups. In interviews with GAO, IRAC agency representatives made two key points in assessing IRAC. First, IRAC is effective in accomplishing spectrum coordination tasks, but its effectiveness is at times limited by representatives' uneven level of technical knowledge. This problem could worsen, as one-half of the 20 current IRAC representatives are currently eligible to retire. Second, IRAC's ability to advise on national spectrum policy issues is limited because of representatives' lack of seniority within their agencies. The chair of IRAC (an NTIA senior executive) is in agreement with representatives on these points. He said that he has gone outside IRAC directly to senior agency executives when he needed advice on contentious spectrum disputes such as those related to the introduction of new commercial communications services that would use federally controlled spectrum. A federal task force recently released a report that identified similar issues regarding IRAC's effectiveness and areas in need of reform.