Blackburn: U.S. Warehousing Much of Its Spectrum

The U.S. government holds 60% of midband spectrum, and much of that is "fallow,” Blackburn said. She argued that some of that spectrum is used periodically and could be shared, noting that an NTIA inventory of federal spectrum holdings could identify what’s used where. The 600 MHz pipeline proposed in the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act reconciliation package (HR-1) isn't enough, she said. “'We need 1,200, we don’t need [600],'" Blackburn reported telling Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. She added that reinstituting the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority is a Senate Commerce priority.

Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is lining up with two Armed Services Committee Republicans in favor of expanding language in a budget reconciliation package that would exclude certain bands from potential sale as part of a renewal of the FCC’s lapsed auction authority. The House passed HR-1 with language barring the FCC from selling the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 5.9-7.1 GHz bands as part of its 600 MHz mandate. Cruz wants to excise those carve-outs (see 2505130059).

A spokesperson said Cotton “supports a spectrum auction to develop more needed commercial bandwidth, but any auction authority must also protect our national security, and he believes [HR-1] will need revisions to achieve both important goals.” Cotton’s office said he backs a call from Senate Armed Services members Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to strengthen the lower 3 GHz exclusion language and add a carve-out for the 7 GHz and 8 GHz bands (see 2505220064).

Remote Challenges

Many operators spoke at Fiber Connect 2025 about the challenges of providing fiber to remote areas. Jason Thune, Hawaiian Telcom's vice president-fiber strategy and development, said deployment on one small island with a population of 3,000 required shipping fiber and installation trucks by barge from other islands. In addition, some roads on the island are available only a few hours a day, he said.

Bandera Electric Cooperative CEO Bill Hetherington said that since the Texas co-op doesn’t accept government aid, justifying some deployments is a struggle. It began deploying fiber in 2017 and has now reached more than 2,000 miles, with 15,000 broadband subscribers, he said. While 82% of its members have access, the remaining 18% are especially remote. But if he doesn’t deploy to those small towns, they “won't exist in 10 years.” Without broadband, “there is no economy.”

Whidbey Telecom COO Donna Hilty said the Washington state incumbent local exchange carrier’s challenges include a 5-square-mile area with 1,000 residents at the southern tip of British Columbia. Point Roberts, Washington, can be reached only by boat or plane or by crossing international borders, and additional hurdles there include Native American burial grounds and the tense trade issues with Canada. There’s fiber in Point Roberts, but further deployment has been on hold for two years, she added.

SaskTel CEO Charlene Gavel said the Saskatchewan-based fiber operator aims to connect 90% of homes and businesses in the mostly rural Canadian province. Its 21,100-mile fiber network reaches 78% now, she said, extending to towns as small as 150 people.

Fiber Connect 2025 Notebook

Blackburn said there's a need for a federal permitting one-stop shop. “I’m a big believer in shot clocks,” she said to applause. The lawmaker also criticized Senate Democrats for stalling White House appointees’ confirmations. Most Cabinet deputies are in place, and the Senate is starting on ambassadors and U.S. attorneys. But Democrats are politicizing the process by demanding individual votes on each, rather than doing approvals in blocks, she said.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Fiber Broadband Association President Gary Bolton repeatedly expressed hope that new BEAD guidance from the Commerce Department would arrive soon and wouldn’t include a “top-down edict” about what technologies are employed. In a letter Friday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Bolton urged that the program should defer to state broadband directors and offices on technologies. “We understand that a mix of technologies will be leveraged to accomplish BEAD’s goal,” he said. State broadband offices “have spent years studying every unserved and underserved location in their state” and best understand budget, topology and climate issues. “There is no group better qualified and accountable to make the best decisions on which technology should be used to serve each broadband serviceable location in their state.”

The association said a survey of its members about BEAD-related Build America Buy America Act compliance found that they have added more than 5,600 jobs and 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing capacity since the program was enacted. Bolton said those jobs are at risk due to BEAD’s current pause. When employees are furloughed or laid off, “you can’t just turn the switch back on” and restart operations easily.