Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to improve emergency location/communication tools and spectrum sharing through an ITS initiative—potentially saving lives and improving interoperability—but it increases federal spending, may raise compliance costs for device makers, and could constrain some federal spectrum operations.
Emergency responders, trapped individuals, and patients in affected areas may get more accurate location and improved communication tools because the bill creates an ITS initiative to develop and test emergency tracking and communication technologies.
State and local governments, wireless operators, and other spectrum users may experience improved spectrum sharing and reduced interference because ITS is authorized to study propagation, interference tolerance, and sharing techniques.
Private-sector innovators, small technology companies, and federal labs get clearer technical specifications and conformance architecture support, making commercial device interoperability and testing easier.
Taxpayers could face higher federal spending because establishing and operating ITS and the emergency initiative will create new program costs with no specified offsets.
Small technology firms and device manufacturers may incur higher compliance and testing costs because ITS activities could lead to additional testing or conformity requirements for devices used in emergency communications.
Federal agencies and employees who use spectrum could face operational constraints if ITS testing leads to new sharing rules or stricter interference tolerances that limit current agency spectrum use.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Codifies ITS as an NTIA federal test center for spectrum/RF research, authorizes cooperative agreements, creates an emergency tracking initiative, and requires an 18‑month public needs assessment report.
Official title: Amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to codify the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, to direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish an initiative to support the development of emergency communication and tracking technologies, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 13, 2026 by Tammy Duckworth · Last progress July 13, 2026
Establishes the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) as a permanent federal test center under the NTIA Assistant Secretary to study radiofrequency emissions, spectrum propagation, interference tolerance, and spectrum sharing between Federal and non‑Federal users. It authorizes ITS to carry out delegated communications-related functions, enter into cooperative agreements and transactions under several existing statutes, and to perform an Emergency Communication and Tracking Technologies Initiative to develop technologies for locating trapped people in confined or shielded environments. Requires ITS to conduct a needs assessment and support development of technical specifications and conformance architecture in coordination with the private sector and federal agencies, and to deliver a public report on that needs assessment to Congress within 18 months of enactment.