CBO Scores Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (S 19)

The Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (S 19) would authorize federal agencies to implement various programs and measures related to management of the electromagnetic spectrum. It would direct federal agencies to prepare reports, develop information for firms that provide telecommunications services, award prizes for advanced technologies, and ensure that certain radio frequencies are made available for commercial uses.

CBO estimates that enacting S 19 would increase net direct spending by $141 million over the 2018-2027 period, primarily as a result of provisions that would accelerate spending related to making federal spectrum available for commercial use. CBO also estimates that implementing the bill would cost $88 million over the 2018-2022 period, subject to the appropriation of the necessary amounts, mainly to develop new data systems and carry out spectrum management activities. If the Federal Communications Commission increases annual fee collections to offset the costs of implementing the bill, doing so would increase the cost of an existing private-sector mandate on some commercial entities regulated by the agency. Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be small, and fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($156 million in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).