Let’s Put Spectrum to Use Now for American Consumers

To maintain American leadership in the global 5G economy, the wireless industry must keep deploying more spectrum for consumers. It’s as simple as that. At T-Mobile, we have a record of putting our spectrum to good use quickly, now covering 326 million Americans with 5G service, 285 million of whom are covered by Ultra Capacity 5G. But in 2023, the government has not been doing its part to keep the pipeline flowing and action is needed. In 2022, the Federal Communication Commission completed Auction 108. In that auction, T-Mobile spent $304 million on more than 7,000 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses to enhance our Ultra Capacity 5G network deployment. Unfortunately, we did not receive access to the spectrum we purchased before the FCC’s Spectrum Auction Authority expired. Congress allowed the FCC’s Spectrum Auction Authority to lapse in March 2023 for the first time in history. While we, along with four former FCC General Counsels, believe the FCC still has authority to either grant the licenses or issue us special temporary authority (STA) to use the spectrum, we also understand the FCC is concerned about getting its auction authority renewed – as it should be. Spectrum auctions are the only viable way to assign licenses to the benefit of consumers and the US Treasury. T-Mobile fully supports the FCC getting that authority back as soon as possible and is working closely with CTIA and the others to accomplish that outcome. While we wait for Congress to act, Americans are losing out on enhanced 5G broadband and economic development opportunities. And as we move through hurricane season and other emergencies, this spectrum could be extremely helpful to provide needed service and additional capacity. Additional 2.5 GHz spectrum helps to increase the capacity of the network, improving connectivity and service in such instances.

[Ulf Ewaldsson is T-Mobile's President of Technology]