Joyce Eyes Pro-5G Resolution, Hopeful on FCC Spectrum Authority Renewal
Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., said during a Thursday Punchbowl News event he will “very shortly” roll out a resolution aimed at allowing 5G innovation in the U.S. to “continue” amid uncertainty about when Congress will restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum…
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auction authority. “There is incredible interest from my colleagues” in both parties for the resolution, he said. Joyce remains hopeful that Congress still has a chance to renew the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority “by the end of the year” despite more than a year of stalled progress in talks aimed at reauthorizing the mandate as part of a broader legislative package (see 2404110059). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others are shopping new spectrum proposals in hopes of jump-starting the talks (see 2403210063). Restoring the FCC’s authority not only is positive … for anyone who logs on, it’s positive for industry because competition can continue to occur,” said Joyce, a House Communications Subcommittee member. “It’s what’s needed worldwide so that we can” be as dominant on 5G as the U.S. was with 4G. “We’re gonna lose out to China if we don’t have that reauthorization.” He pointed to enactment of his 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act in late December to give the FCC temporary authority to issue 2.5 GHz band licenses that T-Mobile and others won in a 2022 auction (see 2312200061) as an example of Congress being able to quickly move on airwaves issues when necessary. “We have a very short window … to get this completed,” Joyce said.