Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

Supporting Innovative Approaches to Spectrum Sharing

This article is cross-posted on the NTIA blog.

The President’s strategy for expanding the capacity of high-speed wireless broadband services across the Nation may get a boost from a new Defense Department Initiative to fund research and development of innovative new approaches to spectrum sharing.

Wireless technology continues to drive innovation and productivity in the United States, fueling economic growth and creating jobs.  By most measures, the United States leads the world in the development and deployment of cutting-edge wireless technologies.  More subscribers to advanced 4G wireless broadband live in the United States than in the rest of the world combined.   U.S. companies dominate the market for smartphone operating systems and online apps.  And the wireless industry contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to America’s gross domestic product.

Building on U.S. leadership and promoting even greater economic growth requires that the Nation make ever more efficient use of spectrum, the airwaves on which wireless services ride.  Consumers are demanding more spectrum for smartphones and tablets, as are stakeholders from other sectors of the economy and society, including healthcare, transportation, and education.   Many critical Government services require spectrum as well, including air traffic control systems, wireless surveillance by law enforcement, weather monitoring, and military combat training.  Ensuring adequate spectrum to support the expected growth in all of these commercial and non-commercial uses poses  technical challenges and will require trade-offs.

Meet a PIF: Kara DeFrias

“I think anyone who wants to make a difference should consider becoming a PIF."

The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program pairs top innovators from the private sector, non-profits, and academia with top innovators in government to collaborate during focused “tours of duty” on solutions that can deliver game-changing results within just six months. This "Meet a PIF" series features members of the first class of PIFs.

John Paul Farmer:  Kara, you were the user experience guru on the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) MyUSA team – tell us about yourself.   

Kara Defrias: Originally from New Jersey, but have been living in San Diego for a while now. My undergrad was Theatre and English education. For grad school, I studied instructional design, which is about creating tools that companies use to train their employees.  That went well with my career at the time in the insurance industry, and it continues to serve me well today, whether through my work with the TurboTax web team on improving the user experience to make it easier for people to do their taxes, or in creating Design for Delight ideation sessions, which focus on identifying user-experience pain points in business systems and figuring out a way to delight customers with a solution.

John: What drives you in your creative work?

My career has brought me to exciting places – though, interestingly, never into government until becoming a PIF. Memorable moments include watching the cast of Chicago rehearse when I worked on the post production team at the Oscars, and feeling the frenetic energy of the crowd while standing on the field when I was a production coordinator for Super Bowl XXXVII. The most rewarding work, though, is anytime I get to be part of something that helps make a difference—whether it's doing pro-bono work with non-profits like Team Rubicon or inspiring people to make a difference in their world by curating an eclectic collection of speakers when I produce TEDx shows.