crs_reports: R48861

Congressional Research Service reports with summaries, authors, and topic classifications.

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R48861 History of the Federal Communications Commission’s Spectrum Auction Authority: 1993-2025 2026-02-23T05:00:00Z 2026-03-06T15:37:52Z Active Reports Jill C. Gallagher, Patricia Moloney Figliola Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Spectrum Policy, Telecommunications & Internet Policy Radio spectrum (“spectrum”) is the continuum of frequencies used to provide wireless services, such as radio broadcasting, mobile communications, and satellite services. Certain frequency bands are allocated for specific services; this means that not all frequencies are available to all users and for all uses. Thus, spectrum is often described as a finite and valuable resource. In 1934, Congress created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and charged it with managing and allocating nonfederal use of spectrum. It grants licenses to nonfederal entities to use specific frequencies and sets terms and conditions to serve the public interest, avoid interference among users, and promote the most efficient use of spectrum. In 1993, Congress authorized the FCC to use competitive bidding (i.e., auctions) to grant licenses for rights to use specific frequencies for commercial wireless communications. That general spectrum auction authority was originally due to expire on September 30, 1998, but Congress extended it several times. In 2012, Congress granted a long-term (10-year) extension, as part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96), which was set to expire on September 30, 2022. Four additional extensions were made during the 117th Congress that allowed the FCC to conduct spectrum auction activities through March 9, 2023, when the FCC’s spectrum auction authority expired. Loss of spectrum auction authority meant that the FCC could not auction any new spectrum bands to meet existing and future demands for wireless communications, accommodate new technologies that often lead to economic growth, improve spectral efficiencies, or advance U.S. government priorities through spectrum allocation. Loss of spectrum auction authority also meant loss of proceeds from such auctions. During the approximately two years that the general auction authority remained lapsed, Congress debated a number of options to reinstate it, including stand-alone bills that would extend the FCC’s auction authority and comprehensive spectrum packages that would identify bands for future auctions, enhance interagency planning and coordination on spectrum, designate funding from spectrum auction proceeds to specific programs (e.g., improvements to 911 centers, investment in spectrum-sharing research and development), and extend the FCC’s auction authority. During the 117th Congress, three bills and one Senate amendment would have extended the FCC’s auction authority (H.R. 7783, H.R. 7624, S. 4117, and S.Amdt. 6585). None became law. In the 118th Congress, four bills would have extended or reinstated the authority (H.R. 1108, H.R. 3345, H.R. 3565, and S. 650). None became law. The FCC’s spectrum auction authority was reinstated during the 119th Congress in P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 reconciliation law (commonly referred to as “the One Big Beautiful Bill Act”). The law, enacted July 4, 2025, includes several spectrum provisions. Specifically, Title IV, Section 40002, reinstates the FCC’s spectrum auction authority for nine years, through September 30, 2034. It also directs the auction of 800 megahertz of spectrum for commercial wireless use and sets timelines for spectrum auctions, designed to meet budgetary goals agreed to in the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (H.Con.Res. 14). The auctions are expected to generate over $85 billion in offsetting receipts from FY2025 to FY2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Much of the spectrum in the range targeted in P.L. 119-21 is already allocated for specific uses and assigned to specific users. Reallocation of services from one band to another, as called for in the act, is often complex, and it takes time to assess costs to incumbent users and impacts on services. Those factors mean that the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages and allocates spectrum for federal use, may face challenges in identifying 800 megahertz of spectrum for reallocation and auction in the timelines specified in the act. Congress may be interested in monitoring the spectrum auctions outlined in P.L. 119-21, including the bands selected for reallocation; interagency coordination on reallocation; impacts on incumbent users, including federal agency users; costs of reallocation; and proceeds generated. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48861/R48861.5.pdf https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/HTML/R48861.html

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