Wireless Industry Celebrates Spectrum Victory as Congress Sends ‘Big’ Budget Bill to Trump
Wireless industry celebrates tax incentives, others celebrate expanded R&D credits.
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2025 – The wireless industry lauded Congress Thursday after the House passed a sweeping budget reconciliation package that delivered a series of major policy wins for telecom providers, including the long-awaited restoration of the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority.
The final version of the reconciliation package – officially dubbed the ”One Big Beautiful Bill” – passed the House in a 218–214 vote Thursday afternoon and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. House Republicans initially struggled to gain support to move the bill forward, with at least five GOP lawmakers initially voting against advancing the bill as of 2 a.m. Thursday morning.
The legislation includes several top priorities for the wireless industry. In addition to restoring the FCC’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions which had lapsed since 2023, the bill sets a requirement for the agency to raise $85 billion in federal revenue by auctioning off at least 800 megahertz of spectrum, creating a long-term pipeline of mid-band frequencies sought by wireless carriers.
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It also allows full expensing of certain broadband infrastructure placed in service through 2026 by updating the tax code to allow 100% expensing for “qualified property,” a tax incentive telecom providers say will accelerate fiber and 5G deployment nationwide.
AT&T said the bill’s tax incentives would allow it to accelerate fiber deployment to an additional 1 million customer locations annually starting in 2026.
“This bill also creates a pipeline of midband spectrum that will help meet soaring consumer demand. Paired with the tax provisions in the bill, this legislation paves the way to restore America’s global lead in wireless technology through smart policy,” AT&T said in a release.
CTIA, the main trade association for the U.S. wireless industry, representing carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, also praised the bill.
CTIA’s President and CEO Ajit Pai said the bill would “fuel America’s wireless networks with the spectrum needed to meet rapidly growing consumer demand,” in a release. He also emphasized that the bill’s tax provisions would “advance infrastructure investment, create jobs, and grow the economy.”
Beyond spectrum policy, the Telecommunications Industry Association praised the budget bill for expanding research and development tax credits, saying it “will accelerate innovation across the information and communication technology industry.”
The Competitive Carriers Association representing small, regional, and rural wireless carriers thanked Congress for reinstating the FCC’s spectrum auction authority saying the action was “long overdue,” while the Wireless Infrastructure Association called the bill’s passage the “first major step toward a more connected and competitive America.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who on Wednesday unveiled his “Build America Agenda” prioritizing wireless and satellite broadband, said the legislation “restores U.S. leadership in wireless.” And, the FCC’s newest commissioner, Republican Olivia Trusty, added that she “look[s] forward to working with colleagues at the FCC to swiftly and responsibly bring this spectrum to market.”
Wi-Fi advocates raise alarms
But while wireless carriers have celebrated, Wi-Fi advocates and unlicensed spectrum providers have raised alarm about Senate language – now preserved in the bill’s final text – which stripped protections for key shared and unlicensed spectrum bands, potentially allowing parts of them to be sold off.
Although the budget bill protects critical military bands, the version of the bill passed Thursday left the 6 GigaHertz (GHz) Wi-Fi band and the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) open for auction. These bands support everything from home Wi-Fi, school networks, industrial IoT, and Tribal broadband systems. Both bands had been protected in the House version of the bill passed on May 22, but those safeguards were stripped during Senate negotiations.
“Under this budget bill, the FCC could be forced to sell off as much as half of the currently unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band to meet the higher auction quota,” said Sara Collins, director of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge, in a release. “This provision could so drastically decrease the quality of our Wi-Fi that any budgetary offset it provides would be overshadowed by the damage done to Americans’ ability to access the internet.”
WISPA – The Association for Broadband Without Boundaries – offered mixed reactions. While the group praised the bill’s tax provisions, including the permanent extension of the 199A qualified pass-through deduction, which it said will allow small ISP owners to reinvest in their networks, it warned the gains could be erased by auctioning off key unlicensed spectrum.
“Millions of Americans in the toughest reaches of our country are living better lives” thanks to 6 GHz and CBRS spectrum, WISPA said, adding that “these will be of little accord if the underlying stock of spectrum is depleted, disrupted, or outright sold.” The group said it will now turn to the FCC to “find other solutions” for meeting the bill’s $85 billion revenue target.
As Broadband Breakfast reported from Capitol Hill Wednesday, several House Democrats appeared unaware that the Senate-passed reconciliation bill included language that could result in the FCC auctioning off the 6 GHz and CBRS spectrum bands, amid intense focus on the bill’s proposed Medicaid cuts.
