OPINION:
It’s not just Greenland. President Trump and congressional Republicans should strike what may be an even more important real estate deal on the wireless spectrum that undergirds America’s technological future: the radio frequencies used by 5G cellular technology, Wi-Fi and missile defense radars.
Lawmakers can unleash the power of the free market to make billions of dollars for taxpayers, prevent unelected bureaucrats from picking corporate winners and losers, and ensure our national security. It’s time for an “America First” spectrum policy.
Congress, the Pentagon and industry groups have argued for years over how to open more spectrum real estate to the private sector to fuel jobs, productivity and wage growth. Although free market champions such as Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz have pushed for commonsense reforms, Washington’s approach remains stuck in the 20th-century Swamp.
For 30 years, the Federal Communications Commission has auctioned off spectrum frequencies that federal agencies didn’t need or underused. However, years of industry consolidation mean that only three big cellular companies are still in the market for high-powered, large-area exclusive spectrum licenses. Moreover, no big chunks of unused frequencies are left, so when a company buys spectrum for exclusive use, Washington has to move federal agencies elsewhere. That includes the Pentagon, which would have to spend $120 billion to move out of some spectrum that could soon be auctioned off. When these huge costs are considered, taxpayers don’t net much money from winning bids.
Thankfully, American innovation has found a solution to this problem. Companies have pioneered a shared approach that allows private-sector providers to safely operate alongside critical national security systems so government agencies don’t have to move. This approach also brings a much broader set of businesses to the bidding table, including new mobile service competitors, rural internet providers and even factories looking to build their own private 5G networks. The FCC’s first-ever shared license auction, held in 2020, was wildly successful, attracting more than 200 winning bidders.
Historically, the FCC decides on a band-by-band basis whether to auction off spectrum for exclusive or shared use, but this has become a quintessential case of the government picking winners and losers. Before the bidding starts, bureaucrats effectively decide who’s even allowed onto the field to compete and bid. This process opens the door to the backroom deals that put special interests ahead of American taxpayers.
There is a better way — one that’s free and fair and puts America first.
Congress should direct the FCC to hold “open auctions.” Under this system, the commission would run two auctions simultaneously —one for exclusive and another for shared licenses. Every interested company, big and small, could bid for the spectrum that best suits its needs. When all bids are finished, the auction track that delivers the largest benefit for taxpayers wins.
Taxpayers stand to win big from open auctions. There would be no more Washington math that lets private companies reap the benefits while leaving the American public on the hook for the costs. The competition between two kinds of auctions could drive bids even higher. A 2023 study found that a shared-license auction for the Pentagon’s frequencies could net nearly $20 billion, which would rise if cellular companies and other businesses entered a bidding war.
The economy stands to win big, too. The free market, not bureaucrats, would determine the highest-value use of this essential real estate, and our national security would be protected. If the Pentagon is forced to move its systems, open auctions would at least ensure more than enough funding to do so safely and efficiently. Alternatively, if those systems get to stay put under a shared framework, there would be minimal disruptions to military operations.
This commonsense reform could be enacted immediately in the reconciliation bill that Congress is negotiating with the Trump administration. It’s a no-brainer: Open auctions for spectrum would make taxpayers billions of dollars, push aside swampy special interests and keep the country safe for future generations. If anyone can deliver an “America First” spectrum policy, it’s Mr. Trump, the House majority he preserved and the Senate majority he won.
• David McIntosh is the president of the Club for Growth.
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