Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said Friday he selected Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., as Communications Subcommittee chairman for the next Congress, as expected (see 2412170053). Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., will be the subcommittee’s vice chairman, Guthrie said. Hudson was a House Communications member during the last Congress but moved off in 2023. He is a Next-Generation 911 Caucus co-chair and last year championed allocating $14.8 billion in future FCC auction proceeds to pay for NG-911 tech upgrades (see 2305240069) as part of House Commerce’s Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565). Hudson's “expertise will help propel our country into the next generation economy,” Guthrie said. Hudson “will close the digital divide for rural America, affirm U.S. leadership in next generation telecommunication networks, and protect our critical communications infrastructure from adversarial attacks.” Hudson said he plans to work with Guthrie, President-elect Donald Trump and other House Commerce members “to advance strong, commonsense policies that promote innovation, streamline federal regulations, and bridge the digital divide.” He will replace current Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who was term-limited from seeking the gavel again and will instead lead the Energy Subcommittee. Guthrie said House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., will continue leading what will be renamed next Congress the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. Several communications industry groups released brief statements congratulating Hudson on his selection as the Communications chairman. Hudson and Allen “understand the importance of ubiquitous connectivity, especially in service of rural, un-served and under-resourced communities; and the need for balanced spectrum and light touch regulatory policies which boost broad-based innovation while also being small-business friendly,” said Wireless ISP Association Vice President-Government Affairs Matt Mandel. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said the broadband industry is “excited to work with [Hudson], his team and his subcommittee to turbocharge the next phase of American connectivity, innovation and technology leadership.” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said the group “and its members, including those who live in and serve communities in Rep. Hudson’s district, look forward to working with him to ensure that rural Americans have access to high-quality, affordable and sustainable broadband networks.”
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Backers of the revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) signaled Wednesday they want to move swiftly on the proposal next year after congressional leaders didn't reach a deal to include it in a continuing resolution that extends federal appropriations through March 14. The CR released Tuesday night includes language from the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510) and several other telecom and tech bills. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 85-15 Wednesday to pass the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) with language that would authorize the AWS-3 reauction to offset $3.08 billion in funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412070001).
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears intent on closing several outstanding wireless issues in her final weeks at the helm, but industry experts said it appears unlikely she will tackle controversial items or launch anything. That approach differs from the way former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai conducted business at the end of the first Donald Trump presidency.
AT&T and CTIA urged that the FCC rethink citizens broadband radio service rules and questioned the band's success, filing reply comments to an August NPRM (see 2411070032). But most commenters said the FCC should only tweak the band. CBRS advocates largely defended the model as a sharing success story. Interest in the proceeding was strong, with more than two dozen reply comments posted as of Friday.
FCC Commissioner and incoming Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday discussed empowering local broadcasters, moving "aggressively” on USF revisions and opening up the space economy and jumpstarting spectrum policy. Speaking at the Practising Law Institute's 42nd Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation, Carr said he's “really looking forward” to taking the commission's top seat.
The FCC unanimously approved an order aligning rules for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference held five years ago (WRC-19). Released Monday, the order aligns part 30 of the commission’s rules for mobile operations in the band with Resolution 750 limits adopted at WRC-19 to protect the passive 23.6-24 GHz band from unwanted emissions on time frames adopted at the conference.
Tapped to lead the FCC during the second Trump administration (see 2411170001), FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is expected to be as aggressive as possible on spectrum and wireless siting issues, industry experts said. During President-elect Donald Trump's first administration, then-Chairman Ajit Pai made Carr lead commissioner on wireless siting.
Supporters of opening the lower 12 GHz band for fixed wireless use remain hopeful about a favorable FCC decision. That's despite the opposition from SpaceX and the major role its CEO, Elon Musk, is now playing ahead of the start of the second Trump presidency. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the agency, has said repeatedly he will follow the guidance of FCC engineers about the band's future (see 2207140053).
House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., said during a Wednesday USTelecom event he wants renewed pushes to restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority and enact a broadband permitting revamp legislative package to be among the subpanel’s top priorities in the next Congress. Broadband executives likewise named Capitol Hill action on broadband permitting legislation as their top congressional priority once Republicans have control of both chambers in January. The officials also noted interest in lawmakers’ work on a potential USF revamp.
The Biden administration is making progress on each of the five bands it's studying as part of the national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048), Shiva Goel, NTIA senior adviser-spectrum policy, said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar late Thursday. Other speakers said the government must make available more high-powered licensed spectrum to ensure the nation doesn’t fall behind China and other competitors.