Public Interest Groups Urge Congress to Auction C-Band Spectrum to Fund Closing Digital Divide

Public Knowledge joined the Benton Foundation and 20 other rural, education, and public interest groups in a letter urging Congress to ensure that the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to reallocate spectrum in the 3700 to 4200 Mhz band (the “C-Band”) benefits rural and low-income Americans struggling to access broadband. In the letter, the groups argue that permitting foreign satellite operators to privately sell the public’s airwaves will achieve little more than windfall profits for satellite operators. However, a public auction of the C-Band presents Congress with a unique opportunity to fund broadband infrastructure and help close the digital divide by directing “$10 billion or more in auction revenue to pay for broadband infrastructure in underserved areas and to authorize the use of spectrum in that band for high-capacity fixed wireless service in rural and less densely populated areas on a shared basis.”

Phillip Berenbroick, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge said, "A public auction of the C-Band will ensure the proceeds can be allocated by Congress to bring high-speed broadband to rural areas and other unserved and underserved communities. Further, authorizing shared use of un-auctioned spectrum will ensure scarce spectrum resources are used efficiently, and bring affordable broadband to areas where broadband is unavailable or unaffordable.”