Spectrum Management and The Global Positioning System: A Case Study in Interagency Coordination.

摘要

At the 2000 World Radio Conference (WRC), a European initiative resulted in the approval of resolutions 605 and 606 (agenda item 1.15), which the United States opposed. These resolutions established provisional power flux density (PFD) limits on the L2 and L5 frequencies of the Global Positioning System. These limits will negatively affect the $1.2B GPS modernization. The United States will have to present its positions and rationale regarding the PFD limits to international meetings, including the 2003 World Radio Conference, to persuade the international community to adopt that U.S. view. Developing the U. S. view and conducting the supporting technical work for the World Radio Conference is accomplished through a domestic interagency U.S. process called the International Telecommunications Advisory Committee (ITAC) process. In this process, the interests and efforts of numerous agencies must be coordinated to produce a focused and cohesive argument. Accomplishing this is not easy. In fact, several players in the ITAC process working issues surrounding WRC resolutions 605 and 606 have encountered considerable difficulty reaching agreement and submitting technical contributions internationally. An analysis of the ITAC process using coordination theory reveals that the problem stems from coequal participants attempting to coordinate directly conflicting interests in a consensus-based process. The problem is further complicated by the geographic separation of the parties. Several remedial actions are available, including using a third-party to arbitrate directly conflicting issues and co-locating the parties.