Biden Expected to Sign 2.5 GHz-Focused 5G Sale Act After House Passage

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act (S-2787), communications policy lobbyists told us. As expected, the House approved the bill by voice vote Monday night (see 2312110062). The measure, which the Senate passed in September, and its House Commerce Committee-cleared companion HR-5677 (see 2312050076) would give the FCC authority for 90 days to issue T-Mobile and other winning bidders the licenses they bought in the 2.5 GHz band auction last year. S-2787’s passage drew praise from some lawmakers and communications sector stakeholders, but they made clear it’s a stopgap measure, required after months of stalled Capitol Hill talks on a broader legislative package that would renew the FCC’s lapsed general auction authority. The White House didn't comment.

S-2787 “would deliver on our promise to provide access to our airwaves for those who successfully won” the 2.5 GHz auction, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said during floor debate Monday. “These licenses have been locked up since” the FCC’s spectrum auction mandate expired in March (see 2303090074) and “while I will continue to work with my colleagues on a long-term solution to reauthorize” the remit, S-2787 is a positive step to ensure the FCC can award licenses to companies that have already paid the U.S. Treasury, said Latta. He and other lawmakers are considering how to pivot away from the House Commerce-approved Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) language in reaction to findings in a DOD study of how repurposing some of the band would affect incumbent military systems (see 2312040001).

“We must find a way forward on a bipartisan, bicameral spectrum agreement that can be sent” to Biden’s desk, House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said. “While I hoped Congress would have expanded the auction authority by now,” S-2787 “is an important step forward in allowing commercial spectrum to be used by consumers, especially those in unserved areas and rural communities.” It’s “critical” Congress renew the FCC’s authority as soon as possible, he said: “I’m concerned that this lapse will hinder” the U.S. “on the international stage, especially with the World Radiocommunication Conference taking place right now in Dubai."

HR-5677 lead sponsor Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., believes releasing the 2.5 GHz licenses as the measure proposes “will mean greater competition among providers and money funneled into our economy.” It “would cut through the bureaucratic red tape and help get more Americans connected to high-speed coverage than ever before,” Joyce said on the floor. He noted FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel testified during a House Communications oversight hearing earlier this month (see 2311300069 that the commission “would devote the necessary resources and time to ensure these licenses would be issued as quickly as possible once this legislation is enacted.” S-2787 lead sponsor Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., hailed the bill's House passage.

T-Mobile Vice President-Federal Government Relations Tony Russo also praised House passage of S-2787. It “is a big win for U.S. consumers,” he tweeted. “The path is now clear for the [FCC] to release all” of the 2.5 GHz licenses the carrier won in the auction “and connect millions of Americans to high-speed internet.” T-Mobile bought a majority of the 2.5 GHz licenses for sale and was pressing the FCC to release them using its existing authority (see 2303270057). Competitive Carriers Association President Tim Donovan urged Biden Tuesday “to swiftly sign” S-2787, saying it's “a positive step toward improving 5G connectivity and maintaining U.S. leadership in innovation for all businesses and consumers.”

Rosenworcel “might have hoped” that arguing the FCC didn't have the authority to release the 2.5 GHz licenses (see 2309050060) “might have resulted in Congress reauthorizing” the full auction mandate, but “instead it resulted in T-Mobile successfully convincing Congress to pass a short law requiring the FCC to grant the licenses,” New Street Research's Blair Levin said in a note to investors. “The granting of the licenses will have an immediate impact” on T-Mobile's operational performance as the carrier “has already built out the towers and radios to utilize much of this spectrum.” It's conversely “a negative for AT&T and Verizon, and due to more in-home broadband opportunities, likely a negative for Charter and Comcast,” he said.