(From Todd Epp, Northern Plains News)
Sen. Mike Rounds is cautioning Congress against auctioning military radio frequencies for 5G networks, emphasizing potential risks to national security and South Dakota’s military installations.
Rounds, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, highlighted that the electromagnetic spectrum in question is vital for radar systems at Ellsworth Air Force Base and nationwide. He contends that reallocating the lower 3 gigahertz band could impede the development of a U.S. missile defense system akin to Israel’s Iron Dome.
Spectrum Access: A Local Concern
In a Feb. 26 op-ed for DefenseScoop, Rounds stated, “The binary choice many in the telecommunications industry are lobbying Congress to make would kill President Trump’s Iron Dome for America and continue to leave the U.S. homeland exposed to an array of long-range strike threats.”
He further noted, “Forcing the Department of Defense to vacate or share those portions of the spectrum would cost taxpayers dearly—the Navy alone estimates it would cost them $250 billion to migrate their radars off those frequencies.”
Ellsworth Air Force Base and other South Dakota military sites rely on secure radar and communications. Loss of spectrum could jeopardize local missions and jobs, while successful missile defense development might attract new investments to the state.
National Security Leaders Share Concerns
Military officials echo Rounds’ apprehensions. Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, emphasized the necessity of uninterrupted spectrum access for homeland defense systems during a Feb. 13 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. He warned that compromising this spectrum poses significant concerns for national security.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., expressed similar worries on April 1, stating that efforts to auction parts of the Department of Defense’s spectrum could undermine President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative and overall security.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., also highlighted the military’s stance, indicating that any reduction in spectrum access is viewed as detrimental to national security.
Advocating for Spectrum Sharing
Rounds advocates for developing technologies that allow spectrum sharing rather than relinquishing critical frequencies. He argues that selling Department of Defense capabilities for short-term economic gains would be as disastrous as neglecting 5G network development.
He also cautions against potential vulnerabilities, noting that adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party could exploit commercial spectrum infrastructure, compromising civilian and military communications.
Implications for South Dakota
“We want to give [U.S. forces] every possible advantage to prevail with minimum losses,” Rounds wrote. “That includes crucial bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.”
The decisions made regarding spectrum allocation could influence future defense investments in South Dakota, potentially affecting upgrades at Ellsworth Air Force Base and other military facilities.
Rounds remains a prominent voice in the Senate, emphasizing the need to balance 5G expansion with the imperative of maintaining robust missile defense capabilities.
