S. 4950: Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act

This bill would formally place the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) into law as a test center operated by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

What ITS would do

The bill says ITS would act as a federal laboratory focused on telecommunications and radio spectrum issues. Its work would include:

• Studying radio frequency emissions and ways to reduce interference from them
• Studying how radio waves travel in different conditions
• Testing technologies that help federal and non-federal users share spectrum more effectively
• Looking at how federal systems tolerate interference when using federal spectrum
• Analyzing how non-federal users access federal spectrum and how federal spectrum can be shared
• Carrying out other related tasks the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information considers necessary

The bill also allows the Assistant Secretary to delegate certain communications-related responsibilities to ITS.

Agreements and partnerships

ITS would be allowed to enter into certain types of agreements and transactions under existing federal authorities. This could let it work with other agencies, outside organizations, or partners on research and technical projects.

Emergency communication and tracking initiative

The bill would require the Assistant Secretary, through ITS, to create an initiative aimed at improving emergency communication and tracking technologies for situations where normal radio communication is difficult or blocked. Examples given include:

• Underground mines
• High-rise buildings
• Collapsed structures
• Other shielded environments where people may be trapped

As part of that initiative, ITS would work with private companies and relevant federal agencies to:

• Assess what measurement standards, technical specifications, and testing/certification needs exist
• Help develop technical standards and a framework to confirm that these technologies work reliably

Within 18 months after enactment, the Assistant Secretary would have to submit a report to Congress and also make it public, describing the assessment that was done.

Relevant Companies

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