For the better part of two years, American consumers and businesses have been deprived of the economic and geopolitical benefits of spectrum auctions, where the Federal Communication Commission sells licenses and permits for electromagnetic spectrum to commercial providers to use for their networks.
Instead, congressional gridlock on the matter has led many politicians to kick the can down the road—setting American consumers on a collision course with a critical shortage of licensed mid-band spectrum by 2027 while setting the United States back in the race for technological preeminence. Congressional inaction on the supply and demand mismatch threatens to disrupt American innovation within the vibrant technology sector and American leadership abroad as it fights a technological cold war with China.
Fortunately, in a committee hearing last month, Rep. Rick Allen , R-Georgia, announced his intention to introduce the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025, House companion legislation to a Senate bill of the same name introduced last year by Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The legislation serves two core purposes: 1) restoring the FCC’s spectrum auction authority; and 2) establishing a pipeline of mid-band spectrum for both licensed and unlicensed uses.
Wi-fi, Bluetooth, smartphone communications, broadcasting, GPS tracking services, internet connectivity, and even military security systems like radar, all rely on reliable spectrum access to support their capabilities. Very little can be done in the modern digital era without it.
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Logan Kolas is the Director of Technology Policy at the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow them on X @ConsumerPal. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.