President Joe Biden recently signed a stopgap measure to get more 5G spectrum into the hands of businesses and consumers who need it, underscoring a longer-term hurdle to repurposing valuable communications airwaves.
The 5G Sale Act, enacted Dec. 20, temporarily authorized the Federal Communications Commission to finish distributing previously sold spectrum licenses that had been in limbo after the agency’s auction authority expired and Congress failed to renew it.
The law tied up a loose end that prevented tracts of wireless spectrum—necessary for carrying 5G signals and powering modern connectivity—from actually being handed over to buyers. During the last three decades, the FCC has conducted 100 auctions that put more than $233 billion into Treasury coffers with express permission from Congress—but that permission ran out in March.
“Louisiana’s job providers depend on wireless communications as they support rural economies. My 5G Sale Act will provide crucial broadband access by giving the FCC the authority to finish transferring previously auctioned spectrum to companies that offer 5G coverage,” bill sponsor Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said in a statement. “I’m grateful to see my bill signed into law so that more Americans have the tools they need to do their jobs and grow their businesses.”
During a September Senate hearing, Kennedy pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on why the agency couldn’t dole out the sold licenses without an active auction authorization. Rosenworcel agreed the situation was “unfair” to the spectrum buyers, but said the statutory language that underpins the FCC’s mission and authority is ironclad, and that the agency couldn't act until Congress renewed the authorization. Kennedy then floated the idea for his bill to “solve the immediate problem.”
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He said that bill would be followed by another to renew the FCC’s full auction authority.
The agency has seen its authority extended several times since Congress first granted it in 1993. This is the first time the FCC’s auction authority has wholly lapsed.
According to the Congressional Research Service, three bills and a Senate amendment attempted to re-up the capability last year, but they all fizzled out based on competing visions for how broad the bill should be. In the future, lawmakers could pass a standalone bill that reauthorizes the agency’s authority for a matter of months or years, or they could roll the reauthorization into a more comprehensive package that lays out goals for future spectrum sales.
Rosenworcel told Kennedy she didn’t object to a short-term stopgap as long as Congress understands that it’s imperative to solve the problem long term.
“I want to emphasize how much we do need that authority back,” she said.