August 1st, 2022

Chairwoman Maria Cantwell
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee
254 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Ranking Member Roger Wicker
U.S Senate Commerce Committee
512 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

We, the undersigned, write this letter to express our support for H.R. 7624, the Extending America's Spectrum Auction Leadership Act of 2022, which would extend the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) authority to auction and license spectrum until March 31, 2024. Unless Congress acts, the FCC’s spectrum authority will lapse on September 30, 2022. The passage of this bill will ensure spectrum continues to be allocated efficiently, unlocking new potential for connected devices and telecommunications.

As House Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) noted: “Failure to replenish the commercial spectrum pipeline risks the United States falling behind . . . in producing cutting-edge consumer innovations and enhancing our national security capabilities.”Already, wireless carriers are seeing an increasing demand for mid-band spectrum for next-generation networks.

With the advent of new technologies, the demand for these bands and others will continue to increase. Spectrum is a limited and finite resource that can be deployed to support both federal and commercial wireless uses. Delaying the allocation and availability of critical spectrum bands will hinder the deployment of new technologies and slow the rollout of new consumer products and services.

Spectrum auctions effectively and efficiently allocate these scarce resources. Beginning in 1994, the FCC has allocated spectrum through a competitive bidding process. Congress, in the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, gave the FCC authority to use a reverse auction to “more effectively assign licenses.” This reduced the average time from the initial application to license grants to under a year, and raised $230 billion for the treasury. The most recent C-Band auction brought in nearly $90 billion alone. As the FCC described in 1997, spectrum auctions have “fostered the entry of new companies into the market and encouraged the development of innovative wireless technology.”

After conducting over one hundred auctions, the results speak for themselves. The FCC has successfully allocated a finite resource in a way that promotes innovation and competition in the marketplace. It is important that they continue to do so, given the continued evolution of 5G, fixed wireless, satellite broadband and eventually, 6G.

H.R. 7624’s short term extension from September 30, 2022 to March 31, 2024 provides the perfect window to complete existing auctions, determine future priorities for spectrum bands, and enable Congress to use proceeds of future auctions as they see fit. We urge Congress to pass this legislation to ensure our communications networks and devices continue to be the most innovative and efficient networks in the world.

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cannon
Policy Counsel, Tech and Innovation
R Street Institute 

Tom Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Joel Thayer
President, Digital Progress Institute 

Jessica Melugin 
Director, Center for Technology Policy & Innovation 

Ryan Nabil
Research Fellow, Center for Technology & Policy Innovation; Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Luke Hogg
Policy Manager, Lincoln Network 

Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union 

Roslyn Layton, PhD
Visiting Researcher, Aalborg University 
Founder, China Tech Threat 

Jeffrey Westling 
Director, Tecnology & Innovation Policy; American Action Forum 

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform 

Tom Herbert 
Executive Director, Open Competition Center 

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