President Biden Signs Law Giving FCC Limited Authority Over Spectrum Licenses

WASHINGTON, December 20, 2023 – President Joe Biden signed the 5G SALE Act into law on Tuesday, giving the Federal Communications Commission authority to issue spectrum licenses purchased before March 9, 2023.

That’s when the commission’s ability to auction electromagnetic frequency bands for commercial use lapsed after Congress failed to renew the authority for the first time since 1993. The expiration left 8,000 purchased, but not yet officially issued, licenses in the 2.5 gigahertz band in limbo.

Tuesday’s stopgap measure will allow the FCC to issue those licenses, opening the door for purchasers to use the spectrum to expand 5G mobile networks.

The commission is still unable to hold new auctions and allocate more frequency bands. FCC commissioners and telecommunications providers have been pushing Congress to fully reinstate the agency’s authority, as emerging wireless technologies and expanding networks compete for finite airwaves.

“We badly need Congress to restore the agency’s spectrum auction authority,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel testified to House members at a recent oversight hearing. She and other commissioners supported the 5G SALE Act at the hearing

Efforts to extend the authority have fallen flat on Capitol Hill as lawmakers struggle to reach an agreement on the duration of the restoration and on specific bands to tap for auction. The March expiration came amid concerns over the results of a Defense Department study on sharing the government’s 3.1-3.45 GHz band with commercial users, with holdouts wanting to wait for the study to be completed before granting blanket authority.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Alan Davidson told Congress on December 5 that the study found no current avenues for commercial use in the band, potentially complicating a House bill that would reinstate auction authority for three years. The bill stalled after clearing the Energy and Commerce Committee in May, and would potentially allow auctions in the band. 

T-Mobile is set to receive the lion’s share of the newly available licenses. It spent over $300 million on 7,156 licenses in the band to expand its networks into rural areas.

The Biden administration unveiled in November a strategy to free up spectrum, directing the NTIA to study 2,800 MHz for future use over the next two years. That includes the lower 3GHz band blacked by the DoD, with the agency focusing on ways to open the band in the future, including moving government systems to other frequencies.

The commission will need its auction authority reinstated to allow commercial use of any bands those studies identify.