FCC Urges Lawmakers to Extend Spectrum Auction Authority

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 – The leaders of the Federal Communications Commissions have urged lawmakers in a letter Tuesday to extend the agency’s spectrum auction authority with urgency before the World Radiocommunication Conference in November.

“Restoring this authority will provide the United States with the strongest foundation to compete in a global economy, counter Chinese technology leadership ambitions, and safeguard our national security,” said the letter, signed by the chairwoman and her three commissioners. “Importantly, the United States cannot afford to wait.”

“The global community will soon convene for another World Radiocommunication Conference to determine the future of spectrum policy, and we must send a strong signal in advance of that meeting of our continued commitment to lead in coming generations of wireless technologies,” added the letter.

The letter is addressed to Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, chair of the House Energy and Commerce, and Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member on that committee; Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ranking member of that committee.

The commission’s authority to auction the airwaves essential for the deployment of wireless technologies had expired in March for the first time in its thirty-year history. The authority was briefly extended a couple of times before that.

“In previous years, Congress has always acted to extend the Commission’s auction authority without interruption,” the letter added. “We look forward to working with you now to ensure the speedy enactment of legislation reauthorizing the Commission’s spectrum auction program, so that we can once again use this authority in service of consumers, businesses, and national security.”

Lawmakers, including Rodgers and Pallone, expressed disappointment with the Senate days after the expiry in March for failing to move legislation passed in the House that would have extended the authority to May 19.

It stalled in the upper chamber due to objections over the length of the authority extension to allow for the completion of a Department of Defense and National Telecommunications and Information Administration study on repurposing government spectrum for commercial use.