Draft Bill Seeks FCC Framework for Federal Spectrum Auction

Congress was already looking at incentivizing government spectrum users to share, now it is adding a framework for Federal Communications Commission auction of that reclaimed spectrum for wireless broadband. A draft bill, the "Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015" is being circulated for discussion in the House Communications Subcommittee that would ask the FCC to come up with a plan to auction federal spectrum for use by wireless broadband.

The bill does not identify the spectrum that would be auctioned, but asks the FCC to get together with the head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to come up with a framework for rules and procedures for relocating federal users or sharing of bands with non-federal users, plus a timeline for competitive bidding. It would require the FCC to produce a series of reports to the House and Senate Commerce committees outlining preparations for such and auction process, including draft rules and timelines and specific frequencies. The report also needs to talk about balancing licensed and unlicensed spectrum, a hot-button issue given that any spectrum reserved for unlicensed reduces the auction take to the treasury but also fuels wireless access, including through Wi-Fi hot spots.