Doyle, Latta Intent on Moving 18-Month FCC Spectrum Auction Authority Renewal

House Communications Subcommittee leaders appear set on advancing the recently filed Extending America’s Spectrum Auction Leadership Act (HR-7783) as their preference for renewing the FCC’s auction authority, before a planned Tuesday hearing (see 2205170081), but there’s more uncertainty about whether they will be willing to attach related measures before it heads to the floor. Senate Commerce Committee leaders are tentative about HR-7783’s proposal to extend the FCC’s auction authority for 18 months to March 31, 2024, and some policy stakeholders told us they outright oppose such a short extension. The FCC's current auction authority expires Sept. 30.

“If it were up to the FCC, there’d be another 10-year” reauthorization, as Congress did in the 2012 spectrum law, “but we’re not prepared to do that” again, said House Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., in an interview. “The Republicans wanted a shorter” one-year extension “and we decided to go a little longer than that.” Everything the House Commerce Committee “is doing between now and when the session ends” at the close of this Congress in January “is just going to be based on what” has bipartisan consensus to “get passed,” he said.

There has been no decision whether House Commerce will attempt to assemble a package combining HR-7783 and other spectrum-focused bills, including the Simplifying Management, Reallocation and Transfer of Spectrum Act (HR-5486) and revised Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624), Doyle said. HR-5486, one of the bills set to be discussed at House Communications’ Tuesday hearing, would require NTIA to develop and implement a standardized framework for facilitating spectrum sharing between federal and nonfederal users (see 2110060073).

“We’re not going to do nothing because we didn’t get everything,” Doyle said: “We’ll see what we have the votes to do with our colleagues” in the Senate. HR-7624 as refiled is “a bipartisan and bicameral” agreement, so “we’re not going to do anything that may cause that to fall apart,” he said. “We’re pretty much going to move forward on that bill as it’s written.” HR-7624 and Senate companion S-4117 would authorize an FCC auction of at least 200 MHz on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and moves to the end of FY 2024 the FCC’s deadline for identifying 30 MHz under the 2015 Spectrum Pipeline Act.

“We really haven’t had a discussion yet” on whether House Commerce will mark up HR-7783 or any other spectrum bills soon after the Tuesday hearing, but “I’d like to move as soon as possible,” Doyle told us: That decision is “really up to” committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. House Commerce is aiming to move on at least HR-7783 soon, said several telecom lobbyists who follow Democratic talks. “They want to move quickly now that there is a compromise on the table,” one lobbyist said.

'Good Compromise'?

“We have to get something done” on renewing the FCC’s authority “quickly” to provide certainty for the 2.5 GHz auction that’s expected to start in July, said House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio: “Coming together” on an 18-month extension “gets us to that point. It’s a good compromise for now.” He’s “not sure” what additional spectrum bills Commerce Republicans will be willing to advance in combination with HR-7783, but extending the FCC’s authority must be the priority. “We’re running out of time” to address the matter before the current authority’s expiration date, Latta said. “After this week we only have nine weeks of legislative time left” before the Nov. 8 midterm election.

“I think” an 18-month extension “is fine” given how close the FCC’s authority is to expiring, said House Communications Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif. “It’s really clear that we need to do that” and “I’m glad” HR-7783 “is a clean bill.” HR-7783 co-sponsor Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, said some sort of authority renewal is needed due to the importance of repurposing more spectrum to ensuring the U.S. “wins the race to 5G.”

“We’ve been talking a little bit” within Senate Commerce about how to structure a renewal of the FCC’s spectrum authority, but that work remains preliminary, committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us. “We’ll take a look” at what’s in HR-7783, but “there’s a lot to do” on spectrum policy beyond reupping the FCC’s statutory role, particularly given the interagency spectrum infighting that plagued the Trump administration and extended into the Biden administration’s first year in office. It would be preferable “if we can get good bipartisan support” for a legislative package that doesn’t just address the FCC’s role, she said.

Two top Senate Commerce Republicans -- committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota -- said in interviews they hadn’t fully examined HR-7783’s text but delivered differing initial opinions on the proposal. “We’re going to need to tweak” that plan, Wicker told us. He wouldn’t detail what changes are needed. An 18-month extension “helps” given “we need to keep the spectrum pipeline flowing” past Sept 30, Thune said. Some lobbyists believe Wicker could be a wild card on the Senate side because he may want to use this renewal round to allocate some auction proceeds to NG-911 as a way of shaping his legacy as lead Commerce Republican before his departure from that role in January (see 2203070068).

Rosenworcel Dodges

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel dodged giving a clear opinion on HR-7783’s proposed 18-month authority extension, during a Thursday call with reporters. “The FCC’s spectrum auctions have been a tremendous success” and “I continue to believe that the FCC needs this authority to assist with its efforts to modernize our airwaves and distribute spectrum in ways that result in a vigorous deployment nationwide,” she said. “I also believe that we can do things with the revenue associated with these auctions,” so “it would be ideal if legislation included a commitment to spending from our next auctions on” next-generation 911 tech upgrades (see 2202220057).

Rosenworcel conversely repeated her strong endorsement of HR-7624. “It’s my hope that in the near future we’ll be able to proceed with this 3.1-3.45 GHz band” sale and HR-7624 “would speed that process,” she said: “Mid-band spectrum is vitally important for the deployment of 5G service everywhere in this country.”

“We obviously cannot let our spectrum authority lapse,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday. “It seems like there’s some hopeful sounds out there, from what I hear in terms of potential movement on Capitol Hill.” It “would be a big loss if we have a lapse of spectrum authority,” he said.

“A short” extension “is definitely right” at the moment, said American Action Forum Technology and Innovation Policy Director Jeffrey Westling. A less than two-year renewal “won’t bind legislators” from going through a more thorough review of the spectrum pipeline “in the future,” he said. Congress needs to have a better sense of what potential bands can have a future commercial use because “it can be hard for the FCC” to plan out additional auctions without specific statutory authority, he said: It would also provide an opportunity for a future package to get a higher Congressional Budget Office score that would allow lawmakers to appropriate potential auction proceeds for other projects like NG-911.

The FCC is likely to “strenuously” oppose the 18-month renewal HR-7783 proposes because “they’ve been advocating for a long extension so they could start seriously considering proceedings on new bands,” said New America Open Technology Institute Wireless Future Program Director Michael Calabrese: “This just kicks the can 18 months down the road.” OTI is “opposed because we think” the proposed reauthorization “seems to foreclose an opportunity to dedicate spectrum auction revenue to public interest purposes,” including proposals to use it on NG-911 or a call from OTI and others to allocate revenue from future sales to endow a Digital Equity Foundation to help close the digital divide (see 2202230058), he said.

“I think the Democrats would certainly like to combine this with” HR-7624, but that’s likely “something that has to be figured out on the Senate side, Calabrese said: A 3.1-3.45 GHz auction has the potential to get “a substantial score” from CBO that would allow lawmakers to allocate the potential revenue to NG-911 and other priorities. House Republicans likely want a short extension given expectations their party will regain control of that chamber in the midterm election, which would allow them to drive work on a longer-term reauthorization come 2024, he said.