Spectrum auction is bipartisanship in action

[Commentary] What if someone told you that Republicans and Democrats in Washington, DC, worked together to create thousands of new American jobs, reduce the deficit, and contribute billions to our country’s economic growth? The Federal Communications Commission completed an auction of spectrum that will be used to expand and improve mobile broadband.

Gross bids totaled almost $44.9 billion, making this auction -- known as the AWS-3 auction -- the highest-grossing spectrum auction in US history. The wireless industry estimates that for every 10 Megahertz of spectrum licensed for wireless broadband, 7,000 American jobs are created and US gross domestic product increases by $1.7 billion. Not long ago, many people said an auction like this couldn’t be done. But both parties in Congress got together in 2012 to pass legislation, which authorized the AWS-3 auction. As we’ve seen, that auction’s success is a good sign that bipartisan, collaborative efforts can and do produce positive results for the American people. We hope to see the same level of dedication, cooperation, and ingenuity as the FCC and its partners work to ensure the Incentive Auction is a success. Bipartisan collaboration across the government is still very possible, and this work will help cement our country’s global leadership in mobile innovation.


Spectrum auction is bipartisanship in action