Sharing our spectrum expertise

For 36 years, CommScope’s Comsearch business unit has been providing training on spectrum management to women and men from developing nations—all at no charge to them or their countries.

The training is the centerpiece of Comsearch’s long-standing involvement with the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI). Launched in 1982, the USTTI is a public-private nonprofit partnership dedicated to aggressively sharing knowledge to make modern communications a reality throughout the developing world. To advance this goal, USTTI partners like Comsearch provide tuition-free training for qualified communications professionals, regulators, and entrepreneurs from developing countries.

CLICK TO TWEET:  Learn more about Comsearch's training partnership with the USTTI by reading Chris Hardy's blog.

Comsearch experts have been teaching USTTI courses on the technical and administrative aspects of spectrum management since the beginning. Kurt Oliver, who recently retired from Comsearch, has taught since 1982 and Dr. Saul Torrico joined him in 1988. Over the years, Kurt and Saul have trained approximately 600 participants representing more than 90 countries.

The training provided by Comsearch focuses on the technical aspects of designing point-to-point and point-to-multipoint microwave paths, covering the technical requirements for engineering reliable microwave links and their spectrum utilization impact. The courses are designed to provide engineering spectrum managers and spectrum administrative personnel with a sound foundation of technical understanding to effectively engineer and regulate the limited resource of spectrum. 

In addition to benefitting the developing countries, the USTTI partnership also has advantages for Comsearch. “Partnering with the USTTI for such a long time has given Comsearch wide recognition as a leader in the field, held in high regard for our integrity and the great engineering work we do for our clients,” Saul says. “By sharing our knowledge and providing specialized training that is otherwise unavailable to them, this partnership has made telecommunication agencies from the developing world aware of our business and engineering capabilities, creating potential business opportunities for our company.”

About the Author

Chris Hardy

Chris Hardy is general manager of Comsearch and president of Comsearch Government Solutions LLC. Chris has been involved in many aspects of the commercial and federal government spectrum management arena since 1981 when he first joined the company. He is a past president of the National Spectrum Managers Association (NSMA) and currently holds the honorary title of fellow. Chris was also vice president and served on the board of directors of Shenandoah Transvideo and Shenandoah County Broadcasting Corporation, a cable TV and a broadcast radio station. Chris holds a bachelor of science degree from Old Dominion University.