Our Federal Spectrum Process Is Broken: Here’s How We Fix It

As our daily lives increasingly depend on wireless services for everything from telemedicine to distance learning, the demand for a new wireless spectrum for 5G and next-generation Wi-Fi has exploded. The spectrum to meet that demand must come from somewhere. Congress routinely orders the Federal Communications Commission to find more spectrum (as it did here), which requires the FCC to reallocate spectrum from some wireless services while developing new rules to protect existing ones. Although the FCC has the hard job of figuring out how to find more spectrum for Americans while protecting safety services (like altimeters), the other federal agencies — focused exclusively on their own missions — fight to maintain the status quo. We cannot continue to lead the world in mobile technology and secure our digital future if the federal government remains at war with itself. It will take consistent pressure from the White House and members of Congress to move agencies to a more productive relationship with the FCC. Otherwise, we will continue to see these fights undermine the rollout of much-needed wireless services to all Americans.

[Harold Feld is Public Knowledge’s Senior Vice President.]