Get ready for the summer of spectrum squabbling

Last week, for the first time ever, Congress allowed the FCC’s spectrum auction authority to lapse – a development that prevents the agency from auctioning more spectrum to 5G network operators.

At roughly the same time last week, President Joe Biden’s Democratic nominee to the FCC, Gigi Sohn, abruptly withdrew from contention without any clear replacement. That leaves the agency deadlocked between two Republicans and two Democrats for the foreseeable future.

For the wireless industry, the political tumult in Washington likely signals a standstill on spectrum policy. That’s noteworthy, considering Biden’s NTIA is hoping to release a national spectrum strategy this fall.

But, according to some analysts, the gridlock in Washington may not have a huge impact – at least for now.

“The FCC does not have any spectrum teed up to auction and the industry, still digesting the costs of the last several auctions, is in no mood to spend more right away,” wrote the financial analysts at New Street Research in a note to investors this weekend.

Indeed, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Dish Network have collectively spent around $120 billion on spectrum in recent FCC auctions. And they haven’t yet shown any indications that those investments will pay off anytime soon.

However, the fight over spectrum – including for 5G and eventually 6G networks – isn’t over. US wireless providers continue to eye additional spectrum in bands ranging from 3GHz to 13GHz.

“We expect that longer-term legislation will emerge in the fall, but the battles over sharing and exclusive use [spectrum licenses] are not close to resolution,” wrote the New Street analysts.

They added that they expect Congress to eventually reinstate the FCC’s spectrum auction authority and for Biden to name a replacement for Sohn. Anna Gomez, a lawyer with experience at the FCC and NTIA, is one potential nominee, they said.

In the meantime, expect plenty of quarreling among industry lobbyists and government officials as they look to get the upper hand for their constituents. Here’s a quick primer on some of the spectrum – and the issues – that will be debated this summer.

3.1GHz-3.55GHz

This band pits the US military and the US wireless industry directly against each other because the US military currently operates radar in the 3.1GHz-3.55GHz band, but the wireless industry wants to get access to the band for 5G.

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