WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The Pentagon said Friday it is merging two of its radio frequency spectrum management offices into a single entity under the Defense Information Systems Agency.
As the military comes to rely more and more on networked information and communications systems, the limited availability of bandwidth is becoming a major problem. Radio frequencies are a finite resource, and exploding capabilities in the commercial sector are forcing the military to compete with private bidders for bandwidth.
Having the use of sufficient bandwidth is critical: the Army in particular is depending on superior information and intelligence sharing to protect its forces in its Future Combat System, a family of vehicles that has traded the traditional heavy armor plating of tanks for speed and maneuverability. The best protection for these vehicles and the soldiers inside, is an uninterrupted stream of quality intelligence over wireless devices that presents a clear view of the battlefield and the enemy's position so they can avoid getting hit.
"Ensuring timely and trusted information is available where it is needed, when it is needed, and to those who need it most is at the heart of the capability needed to conduct network-centric operations," the Pentagon said in a press statement issued Friday.
"The Defense Spectrum Organization will significantly advance the department's efforts to make spectrum management information available to the war-fighter anywhere, anytime," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and Pentagon Chief Information Officer John Grimes said in the announcement.
Grimes is merging the Defense Spectrum Office and the Joint Spectrum Center.
The U.S. government has spent more than $80 billion on spectrum-dependent equipment. The equipment ranges from GPS, wireless phones and walkie-talkies to radars, satellite relay systems and radio telemetry devices.
