Commissioner Gomez Calls on Congress to Restore FCC Spectrum Auction Authority

By Lawson Faulkner

On Tuesday, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called upon Congress to renew the agency’s

spectrum auctioning authority, a licensing power that has remained in limbo for the past year and a half. Addressing the Americas Spectrum Management Conference, Commissioner Gomez explained that this absence of authority has precipitated a number of agency crises, including low levels of employee retention, a diminishment in agency expertise, and an overall dilution of FCC regulatory leadership on the global stage.

Unless Congress acts swiftly to restore this critical authority, the FCC will continue to atrophy, undermining free-market systems for spectrum deployment at home and American leadership abroad.

Since 1994, the FCC has employed an auction system to license radiofrequency spectrum bands for wireless and broadcast services. This competitive bidding system reinforces the principles of the free market, ensuring a meritocratic distribution of spectrum licenses nationally. Furthermore, spectrum auctions are lucrative generators of government revenue, providing the U.S. Treasury with more than $230 billion since their establishment.

Nevertheless, since March 2023, this crucial auction authority has been paralyzed by the indecision of lawmakers. Although the House of Representatives has worked to reauthorize spectrum auctions under a Democratic majority in 2022 and a Republican majority in 2023, the Senate Commerce Committee has failed to reach an agreement for the past year and a half.

During her remarks, Commissioner Gomez noted that 2024 marks three decades since the FCC’s first spectrum auction, explaining that the agency “pioneered this concept and it changed the world.” However, without a congressional renewal of auction authority, Gomez predicted an “atrophying” of FCC productivity, arguing that “the longer we wait, the harder it will be to regain muscle.” Gomez acknowledged that it is becoming harder to retain talent within the agency, as the absence of auction activity has caused spectrum experts to pivot to other occupations.

This decline in expertise has begun to noticeably affect the FCC’s regulatory reputation within the international community, with Gomez admitting that “we are losing credibility on the global stage.” Gomez explained that while “nations have looked to our expertise and welcomed our advice” in the past, they now know that “we do not currently have the power we usually have to shape the global commercial wireless market.” Without the reinstatement of auction authority, Gomez insisted that the FCC is “hindered from efficiently managing commercial spectrum, which has consequences for our nation’s economic security.”

Without prompt congressional action, the absence of FCC auction authority will continue to erode agency talent and global influence. In addition to the billions in annual revenue used to offset the tax burden of everyday Americans, competitive auctioning ensures that the principles of the free market lay at the foundation of national spectrum distribution.

Every moment of congressional inaction weakens America’s competitive edge, undermining the free-market foundation that has propelled wireless advancements for decades. Congress should swiftly act to return spectrum auction authority to the FCC.