FCC Leadership Renews Call to Restore Spectrum Auction Authority

On April 18, 2023, Federal Communications Commission leadership wrote to Congressional leadership to restore the Commission's spectrum action authority. The FCC's auction authority expired for the first time in the program’s 30-year history on March 9, 2023. "Restoring this authority will provide the United States with the strongest foundation to compete in a global economy, counter Chinese technology leadership ambitions, and safeguard our national security," wrote FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks, Nathan Simington, and Brendan Carr. "To date the Federal Communications Commission has held 100 spectrum auctions and in the process raised more than $233 billion for the United States Treasury. As a result, the agency’s auction program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support here at home and our efforts have been a model for regulators worldwide...The global community will soon convene for another World Radiocommunication Conference to determine the future of spectrum policy, and we must send a strong signal in advance of that meeting of our continued commitment to lead in coming generations of wireless technologies," they said. The letter was addressed to Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX).