SPECTRUM USAGE MONITORING SYSTEM (SUMS)

Abstract

DoD T&E and Training ranges are under pressure from two sides: externally to share or vacate RF spectrum to make it available for commercial purposes, and internally to increase that usage to support more missions per day, and more data per mission. To appropriately respond to these pressures, the DoD CIO developed the DoD Electromagnetic Spectrum Roadmap and Action Plan. A key recommendation from that plan is to develop a spectrum usage monitoring program at T&E and training ranges. SUMS is being developed in response to that recommendation. The primary objective of SUMS is to give individual T&E and training ranges, as well as the DoD CIO and other senior DoD leadership, a comprehensive picture of spectrum usage at those ranges. This will enable them to make intelligent decisions about spectrum use, and also give them the tools needed to defend current and future spectrum allocations, or to plan cooperative spectrum sharing with non-Federal users. This paper will describe the need for a capability like SUMS, some of the challenges of developing SUMS, its overall architecture, and some of the benefits we expect the DoD to realize when SUMS is fully implemented and deployed.