Weekly Wrap: Big, beautiful spectrum auctions

The US spectrum regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), lost the authority to conduct auctions in early 2023. Since then, there has been little success in restoring it.

This is because any law that does so will also include instructions on what spectrum the FCC has to auction. On this issue, there is a deep divide within the US House of Representatives and Senate.

Despite having a majority in both houses of Congress, the Republican Party is divided. There is disagreement on whether the FCC should take spectrum away from federal users, such as the military, in order to auction it to mobile operators. 

Many in the party see themselves as defenders of the military’s spectrum interests, while others favour the mobile industry’s demands. The issue has also been further complicated by Trump’s plans for a “golden dome”, which critics argue will require a lot of spectrum.

Earlier this year, on our Spectrum Policy Podcast, US spectrum expert Harold Feld told me that the President doesn’t usually weigh in on spectrum issues due to their complexity. This has contributed to the stalemate.

That changed this week, when Trump vowed to auction “plenty of spectrum,” instructing Congress to “put 600 MHz in ‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL Bill’” (Trump’s phrase for the US budget legislation).

This would match the text in the latest version of the bill, which is currently making its way through Congress. We wrote about this last week in detail, but in summary, it would ask the FCC to auction 600 MHz of spectrum within two years.

It does not specify where this spectrum should come from, but it does exclude the lower 3 GHz and 6 GHz bands. The lower 3 GHz band is important to the Department of Defense, while 6 GHz is currently unlicensed and used mainly for Wi-Fi.

Feld says Trump’s proposal would “kick the can down the road on what bands to choose to the FCC”. Yet the lack of easily accessible spectrum makes this difficult for the agency, particularly if the military vows to protect its spectrum bands.

The issue highlights the increasingly partisan nature of spectrum policy in the US. In most other countries, regulators would have more leeway in determining the best course of action. As spectrum use becomes more contested, cracks are starting to emerge in the US spectrum management framework.

Spectrum is not the most controversial item in the latest budget bill. It has now passed the House of Representatives, but many expect it to be voted down in the Senate. Will the FCC ever regain its authority to conduct auctions?

Here’s what else we wrote about this week:

• As the International Telecommunication UnionThe International Telecommunication U… (ITU) celebrates its 160th anniversary, we ask whether the body will be able to maintain its position as geopolitical tensions rise.
• Lithuania becomes the latest country to consult on opening up the 3.8–4.2 GHz band for private networks.
• As rumours continue to swirl, we try to get to the bottom of whether the EU really is planning to close BERECBEREC stands for the Body of European Regu….
• The Indian regulator has proposed its long-awaited pricing formula for satellite licences.
• A new report compiled for the UK Spectrum Policy Forum by Coleago Consulting proposes five options for the future of the UHF band in the UK.
• A new report from mobile industry body the GSMA says that while overall spectrum prices are declining, the cost of spectrum is still not in line with slowing revenues.