FCC Spectrum Auction Authority Lapse Woes Rise Ahead of Senate Showdown

Communications sector officials voiced elevated concerns Wednesday about the prospects that the FCC’s spectrum auction authority might expire Thursday night, before a planned floor showdown between Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and other Senate officials over dueling proposals to extend the mandate (see 2303080045).

A circulating letter from DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to congressional leaders that endorsed a scuttled December spectrum legislative package’s proposal for handling reallocation of portions of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for 5G use (see 2212200077) further muddied the waters due to Rounds’ concerns about the frequencies. The House Communications Subcommittee, meanwhile, swiftly advanced the Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-1341), Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353) and 11 other bills (see 2303060067).

Rounds told us he planned to go to the Senate floor Wednesday night to pass his bill to lengthen a new extension of the FCC's spectrum auction authority to last through Sept. 30 (S-650) by unanimous consent (UC) instead of accepting a House-passed plan to renew it until May 19 (HR-1108). That push may lead to the FCC's mandate expiring altogether Thursday because Rounds adamantly opposes passing HR-1108 by UC and Hill leaders don't back his proposal, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The Senate can pass legislation by UC only if no senator objects.

Rounds indicated a Democratic senator had already objected to passing S-650 by UC when he did a “hotline” canvas to gauge potential opposition, but “I’m going to take the opportunity to do a live floor push" to force the issue. "I've been pretty straightforward" with Senate leaders that "I'm going to try to hotline" S-650, he told us: “We’ll see what happens.” Rounds confirmed he previously objected when Senate leaders hotlined HR-1108 because he was concerned a legislative deal before FY 2023 ends Sept. 30 would harm DOD's role in determining whether and how much of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band the FCC can repurpose (see 2303070080). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is to be the floor objector, lobbyists told us. Schumer’s office didn’t comment.

"I don't want to see" the FCC's authority "lapse if at all possible," but "we won't have" an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-mandated DOD analysis on relocating its systems off the 3.1-3.45 GHz band "until sometime in September," Rounds said. "This would give us an opportunity to see the report before" lawmakers decide on legislative language about the frequency. That DOD report "has been the cause of a lot of the discussion" about 3.1-3.45 GHz, so "there's no reason to do a short-term extension when" lawmakers would then "have to turn around and figure out how to do another short-term extension" again by May 19, when the band's future would still be "in question," he said.

“We’re still talking about “potential options “for later tonight” once Rounds seeks UC on S-650, said Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in an interview. “We’d rather pass” HR-1108 by UC if possible, but leaders may “eventually” need to seek floor time to settle the impasse. “There’s no real issue” with the FCC’s mandate “expiring per se” because “they can still use their authority for 60 more days,” but that would be a far from ideal situation, she said.

“I don’t know what happens” if the “dueling UC requests” outright fail, but “hopefully at some point this will get resolved in a way” that provides certainty to the communications sector and other stakeholders, said Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who’s also Communications Subcommittee ranking member.

The 3.1-3.45 GHz language in the scuttled Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act proposal “protects critical national security missions, enables cutting-edge innovation, and ensures that the international community sees” the U.S. “as a leader on spectrum issues,” Austin and Raimondo said in a Sunday letter to Cantwell and other leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Commerce committees we obtained. Rounds previously objected to the scuttled December spectrum legislative proposal because it would have given the Commerce Department the ability to override DOD’s recommendations (see 2212200077).

“We also strongly support provisions” in the proposal “that require any decision to make the lower 3 GHz available for commercial use to be contingent on the outcome” of the DOD study, Austin and Raimondo said. The U.S. “is and has long been the global leader in wireless broadband technologies,” but “we cannot take our leadership position for granted” because China, Russia and other foreign adversaries “are working every day to undermine and outpace” the U.S.

House Communications approved HR-1341, HR-1353 and the 11 other bills on its Wednesday agenda unanimously. Two other bills also dealt with spectrum issues: an amended version of the Leveraging American Understanding of Next-Generation Challenges Exploring Space Act (HR-682) and Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-1343). HR-682 would require the FCC to streamline the authorization process for commercial launches’ access to spectrum. HR-1341 would require the FCC and NTIA to update their memorandum of understanding for handling spectrum allocations at least once every four years. HR-1343 would provide statutory authority for ITS’ role in managing NTIA’s telecom and spectrum technology programs. HR-1353 would require the FCC to allow satellite direct-to-cell service providers and others to apply to access spectrum to fill in wireless coverage gaps in unserved areas specifically to provide connectivity for emergency services.

Also on the docket: an amended version of the Secure Space Act (HR-675), Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (HR-1338), Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act (HR-1339), Open Radio Access Networks Outreach Act (HR-1340), NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act (HR-1345), Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act (HR-1354), American Cybersecurity Literacy Act (HR-1360), Communications Security Act (HR-1370) and Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act (HR-1377).