UPDATE The FCC is emerging as a key part of the still-murky framework that President Joe Biden and bipartisan senators agreed to on Thursday. The deal would put $65 billion toward broadband investment.
But where that money would come from was vague. The provided outline calls “5G spectrum auction proceeds” and “state and local investment in broadband infrastructure” proposed financing sources for new investment, but doesn’t elaborate. The office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) told Politico “investment” refers to $20 billion in money already allocated in the March pandemic relief plan.
Lawmakers have long sought to direct revenue from FCC spectrum auctions for purposes like this, including concerted efforts in recent years to set aside that revenue for efforts to close the digital divide. The money normally goes to the U.S. Treasury to pay down debt unless Congress specifies otherwise.
Where could lawmakers look? The recent FCC sale of C-band spectrum raised more than $80 billion. At the time, the agency said that was a record amount. But final payments from winning bidders were due in March and it’s not clear that money can still be tapped. However, bidding is slated to begin October 5 in Auction 110, the auction of flexible-use licenses in the 3.45 GHz band. Congress could potentially direct revenue from that auction.
That $65 billion for broadband is lower than Biden’s original $100 billion figure. Democrats originally wanted to spend the money on fast fiber-optic connectivity, but having less money to work with could pressure them to tap more deployment methods, including wireless and satellite options. Tuesday’s hearing of a Senate subcommittee reflected those tensions, Inside Towers reported. Wireless Infrastructure Association President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein urged lawmakers, as they craft an infrastructure package, to avoid putting up roadblocks that could eliminate alternative technologies.
Rather than focusing on high symmetrical upload and download speeds that many consumers don’t use, he stressed the speed of initial wireless deployment and restoration time compared to fiber. Instead of laying fiber to every home, “you can put up a tower, or co-locate several antennas on a single tower,” and get multi-home penetration, he testified.
Advocates of other broadband technologies are still pressing their case. “Satellite is the least expensive way to connect rural America,” EchoStar senior VP Jennifer Manner told Politico, describing what the satellite provider told the White House. “Where satellite serves the most robust customer base, fiber operators have either not shown up at all or are fleeing the market due to the economics.”
Biden said Thursday the proposed broadband investments would “deliver high-speed internet to every American home” and end up “bringing down the price that people pay” for internet service.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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