Former FCC leaders push Congress to renew auction authority

A who’s who of former Federal Communications Commission leaders sent a letter to the chairs of the House and Senate Commerce Committees urging Congress to restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority as soon as practicable. “As former leaders of the Federal Communications Commission, we have worked together, on a bipartisan basis, to lay the foundation for America’s global wireless leadership. Although our policy priorities at times differed, we share an understanding that central to Americans’ wireless success is the FCC’s spectrum auction authority,” the letter states. The former FCC leaders believe failure to renew the FCC’s auction authority “augurs troubling consequences.” Among other things, the delay in renewing auction authority risks ceding a global competitive advantage to other countries, particularly China. Reinstating auction authority also is vital to ensuring US leadership before the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference.