House Sends Spectrum Pipeline to Senate

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025 – The House passed its sweeping budget legislation early Thursday morning, sending plans for a spectrum pipeline to the Senate.

The House bill would, along with restoring the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority until September 30, 2034, require the sale of 600 megahertz for exclusive, licensed use, the model favored by the major wireless carriers. The spectrum language wasn’t changed in a lengthy markup by the House Rules Committee before passing.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated restoring FCC auction authority, lapsed since March 2023, and the mandatory pipeline would raise $88 billion over 10 years.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a lead advocate for a spectrum pipeline in Congress, had in a previous bill put forward a higher target of 1,250 megahertz. He’s also criticized “bureaucrats at the Pentagon” for opposing a pipeline in a bid to avoid giving up military spectrum eyed by the wireless carriers.

The House-passed legislation included a carve-out protecting the Defense Department’s lower 3 GHz band from counting toward the 600 megahertz total, an effort to satisfy DoD and allied lawmakers. The exemption mirrored a Defense proposal circulated earlier this year.

Republicans in the Senate have signaled intent to change other parts of the bill, but it’s not clear if the spectrum provisions will be altered.

In response to a post from President Donald Trump praising the House plan, Cruz posted on X that “President Trump is 100% correct,” and his committee’s “spectrum pipeline legislation will ensure we beat China in the race for 6G – unleashing faster speeds, billions in new investment, and hundreds of thousands of new jobs – all while enhancing our national security.”

Cruz’s office referred to a previous statement in which Cruz said it was “encouraging” to see the 600 megahertz pipeline, which was not finalized by the House at the time, and that it “reflects the momentum we’ve been building to establish a strong, forward-looking spectrum pipeline – one that is essential to preserving and advancing U.S. leadership in the global communications industry.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on Cruz's committee, opposed the House language, saying it would “punch a gaping hole in our defenses.”

The mobile industry was satisfied with the 600 megahertz target and the carve-outs, which also included the unlicensed 6 GHz band used for Wi-Fi. CTIA, the industry’s main trade group, has been pushing for a pipeline to get more airwaves in the hands of 5G carriers and urged Congress to push through the House bill.

Meanwhile, a lobbying group representing the cable industry, wireless ISPs, and consumer groups had called for additional protections for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a lower-power shared band. The protections were ultimately never included.

The DoD plan partially reflected in the House bill also called for moving some CBRS users and auctioning the airwaves off for the high-power, exclusive use favored by wireless carriers. AT&T had proposed a similar plan last year.

Some House Democrats also called for protecting CBRS, but no such amendments were introduced.

The FCC is set to auction the AWS-3 band used by mobile providers by mid 2026, but that was a one-off authorization from Congress to help pay for the agency’s rip and replace program. The effort to reimburse smaller providers for swapping blacklisted Chinese gear out of their networks was previously underfunded by $3 billion.

The House language preventing states from passing or enforcing regulations on AI for 10 years was largely unchanged. It would allow for laws promoting AI adoption, like streamlining licensing and permitting, but blocked those that constrain companies building AI models or systems.

The legislation is being pushed through under the budget reconciliation process, which will allow Republicans to pass the bill with a simple majority while avoiding the need to amass 60 votes to break a filibuster fatal to the bill. Senate Republicans have 53 votes to Democrats' 47. Provisions in the legislation will have to pass muster under the Byrd Rule, which limits reconciliation measures to those directly related to federal spending or revenue.