| FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has asked congressional leaders to restore the agency’s spectrum auction authority. “Passing legislation that establishes a new pipeline of mid-band spectrum is vital to our economy and national security,” he tells Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) in a letter.
“When we free up spectrum, the world takes notice,” writes Carr. He reminds lawmakers that the Commission has held over 100 spectrum auctions and raised more than $233 billion in revenues for the U.S. Treasury. “FCC spectrum auctions consistently exceed revenue estimates—by multiples in many cases,” Carr adds.
The FCC lost its spectrum auction authority three years ago, when Congress let it lapse. “Since then, America has been falling behind China and many other nations when it comes to the amount of prime, mid-band spectrum necessary to power new innovations,” the agency Chair states. “This puts America at a significant disadvantage to China and harms U.S. consumers.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief |
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