On May 13, the House Energy and Commerce Committee (“E&C Committee”) voted on its portion of the budget reconciliation package which includes a major proposal to identify new radio spectrum bands for auction and to restore the FCC’s long-lapsed spectrum auction authority. The budget reconciliation proposal directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) within two years to identify at least 600 megahertz of spectrum between the 1.3 GHz and 10 GHz frequencies for auction. The proposal also requires the FCC to complete an auction (with its restored auction authority) for at least 200 megahertz within three years, and to auction the remainder of the spectrum within six years from enactment. This approach of requiring the FCC to identify a minimum of 200 megahertz of spectrum for auction and to complete such auctions in the near term follows the pattern Congress used in the 1990s to jumpstart growth in the wireless industry.
The spectrum designated for auction would be allocated on an “exclusive, licensed basis for mobile broadband services, fixed broadband services, mobile and fixed broadband services, or a combination thereof.” Note that the legislation would carve out from auction-eligible spectrum bands the frequencies between 3.1 GHz and 3.45 GHz, and between 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz. The bill also provides that the auction proceeds would cover “110 percent of Federal Relocation or Sharing Costs.” The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the auction will raise $88 billion of new revenue; this “score” of $88 billion makes it the second-biggest item in the budget reconciliation bill for the E&C Committee behind changes to Medicare/Medicaid.Continue Reading Energy and Commerce Committee Votes on GOP House Spectrum Plan