Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025
This bill renews the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction licenses for the use of radio frequency spectrum, and requires some frequencies currently used by the federal government to be reallocated to permit use by private entities.
Specifically, the bill reauthorizes the FCC’s use of competitive bidding (i.e., auctions) to grant licenses for the use of specific frequencies. (The FCC’s auction authority must be renewed by Congress periodically. It expired on March 9, 2023, and has not been renewed.)
Further, the bill directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to identify frequencies currently designated for use by the federal government that may be reallocated to permit use by private entities either exclusively or on a shared basis. At least half of the spectrum identified for reallocation must be allocated to commercial use (including commercial wireless use), and licenses in this category must be auctioned by the FCC within a specified time frame.
A separate portion of the spectrum must be allocated to unlicensed use. (Unlicensed frequencies are commonly used to support Wi-Fi, connected appliances, wearable consumer devices, and other electronics.)
The bill also makes certain changes to the process for compensating federal entities that relocate to new frequencies under a spectrum reallocation plan. The bill shortens the time frame for congressional review of payments to these entities, and permits such payments to be used to cover the cost of replacing existing systems and equipment with state-of-the-art upgrades.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 651 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 651
To require the Federal Communications Commission to auction spectrum in
the band between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2025
Mr. Allen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to auction spectrum in
the band between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECTRUM FOR REALLOCATION AND AUCTION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
and Information.
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(4) Covered band.--The term ``covered band'' means the band
of frequencies between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz.
(5) Federal entity.--The term ``Federal entity'' has the
meaning given the term in section 113(l) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)).
(6) Full-power commercial licensed use cases.--The term
``full-power commercial licensed use cases'' means flexible use
wireless broadband services with base station power levels
sufficient for high-power, high-density, and wide-area
commercial mobile services, consistent with the service rules
under part 27 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulations, for wireless broadband deployments
throughout the covered band.
(b) Identification for Reallocation.--
(1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary, in consultation
with the Commission, shall identify not less than 2500
megahertz of spectrum in the covered band, that as of the date
of enactment of this Act is allocated for Federal use or for
shared Federal and non-Federal use, for reallocation for non-
Federal use, shared Federal and non-Federal use, or a
combination thereof, including not less than 1250 megahertz for
full-power commercial licensed use cases.
(2) Schedule.--The Assistant Secretary shall identify the
spectrum under paragraph (1) according to the following
schedule:
(A) Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall
identify not less than 1250 megahertz of spectrum.
(B) Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall
identify any remaining spectrum required to be
identified under paragraph (1) after compliance with
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(c) Auctions.--
(1) In general.--With respect to the spectrum identified
for reallocation under subsection (b) for commercial licensed
use, the Commission shall grant licenses through systems of
competitive bidding for not less than 1250 megahertz of the
spectrum for full-power commercial licensed use cases.
(2) Schedule.--The Commission shall auction the spectrum
under paragraph (1) according to the following schedule:
(A) Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete 1
or more systems of competitive bidding for not less
than 600 megahertz of the spectrum.
(B) Not later than 6 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete 1
or more systems of competitive bidding for any
remaining spectrum required to be auctioned under
paragraph (1) after compliance with subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph.
(d) Unlicensed Use.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make available on an
unlicensed basis not less than 125 megahertz of the spectrum in the
covered band.
(e) Licensed or Unlicensed Use.--Not later than 8 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make available for
use on a licensed or unlicensed basis any remaining spectrum that is--
(1) identified under subsection (b); and
(2) not--
(A) auctioned under subsection (c); or
(B) made available on an unlicensed basis under
subsection (d).
(f) Auction Proceeds To Cover 110 Percent of Federal Relocation or
Sharing Costs.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve
the Commission from the requirements under section 309(j)(16)(B) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(16)(B)).
(g) Auction Authority.--Section 309(j)(11) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``grant a license or permit under this
subsection shall expire March 9, 2023'' and inserting
``complete a system of competitive bidding under this
subsection shall expire September 30, 2027'';
(2) by striking ``and with respect to'' and inserting
``with respect to''; and
(3) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, and with respect to the electromagnetic spectrum
in the covered band (as defined in section 2(a) of the Spectrum
Pipeline Act of 2025), such authority shall expire on the date
that is 8 years after the date of enactment of that Act''.
(h) Reporting Requirements and Quarterly Briefings.--
(1) NTIA progress report on spectrum identification.--
(A) In general.--On each date as of which the
Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the
Commission, has identified the quantity of spectrum
required under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively,
of subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report detailing the findings and conclusions that the
Assistant Secretary used to support the identification.
(B) Contents.--The Assistant Secretary shall
include in each report submitted under subparagraph
(A)--
(i) an analysis of the spectrum identified;
and
(ii) the Federal entities with which the
Assistant Secretary coordinated regarding the
spectrum identified.
(C) Form of report.--Each report required under
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may contain a classified annex.
(2) NTIA and fcc reports on reallocation of spectrum
identified.--
(A) Initial progress report.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant
Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report on the progress of the Assistant Secretary in
identifying spectrum in the covered band for
reallocation under subsection (b) that includes--
(i) an assessment of the operations of the
Federal entities and non-Federal entities that
operate in the spectrum in the covered band;
and
(ii) a preliminary analysis of which
portions of the covered band are being
considered for reallocation in accordance with
subsection (b)(1).
(B) Reports on 2 tranches of identified spectrum.--
Not later than 60 days after each date as of which the
Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the
Commission, has identified the quantity of spectrum
required under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively,
of subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary, in
consultation with the Commission, shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report that
includes--
(i) an assessment of the operations of the
Federal entities and non-Federal entities that
operate in the applicable spectrum, current as
of the date of the submission of the report;
(ii) the steps the President has taken to
begin the process of withdrawing or modifying
the assignments of Federal entities in the
covered band as necessary for the Commission to
begin and complete the systems of competitive
bidding under subsection (c);
(iii) an estimate of the funding required
for the relocation or sharing costs (as defined
in section 113(g)(3) of the National
Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C.
923(g)(3))) expected to be incurred by the
Federal entities described in clause (ii) in
connection with the reallocation of the
applicable spectrum; and
(iv) steps the Assistant Secretary is
taking to ensure global harmonization with the
spectrum to be reallocated.
(C) Form of report.--Each report required under
this paragraph shall be submitted in unclassified form,
but may contain a classified annex.
(3) Annual briefings.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter
until the date that is 10 years after such date of
enactment, the Assistant Secretary and the Chairman of
the Commission shall provide the appropriate committees
of Congress with a briefing on the progress of the
Assistant Secretary and the Chairman in complying with
the requirements of this section.
(B) Contents.--The Assistant Secretary and the
Chairman of the Commission shall include in each
briefing under subparagraph (A)--
(i) an update on the specific frequencies
of spectrum under consideration or that have
been identified to meet the requirements of
subsection (b);
(ii) an explanation of the Federal entities
and non-Federal entities that operate on the
frequencies described in clause (i) and the
specific services or systems utilized by those
entities on those frequencies;
(iii) the extent to which Federal entities
are cooperating with the efforts of the
Assistant Secretary and the Chairman of the
Commission to comply with the requirements of
this Act;
(iv) an update on the progress of the
systems of competitive bidding required by
subsection (c); and
(v) any additional information related to
compliance with this Act by the Assistant
Secretary and the Chairman.
(C) Form of briefing.--Any classified information
that would otherwise be provided in a briefing under
subparagraph (A) shall be provided in a separate
classified briefing.
SEC. 3. SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND MODERNIZATION.
(a) Congressional Notification Timelines.--Section 118 of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 928) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``30 days''
and inserting ``15 days''; and
(B) in the matter following subparagraph (C), by
striking ``30 days'' and inserting ``15 days'';
(2) in subsection (f)(2)(B)(iv), by striking ``30 days''
and inserting ``15 days''; and
(3) in subsection (g)(2)(D)(ii), by striking ``60 days''
and inserting ``15 days''.
(b) Comparable Capability.--Section 113(g)(3) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47
U.S.C. 923(g)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in clause (v), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(vi) the costs associated with replacing
systems and equipment with state-of-the-art
systems and equipment, including systems and
equipment with additional functions, only if
the state-of-the-art systems and equipment
allow for the reallocation of significantly
more valuable spectrum frequencies from Federal
use to exclusive non-Federal use or to shared
Federal and non-Federal use than would be
reallocated if systems and equipment were
replaced with comparable systems and equipment
or systems and equipment with incidental
increases in functionality, provided the costs
would not jeopardize the ability of the
Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the
Chair of the Commission, to reallocate eligible
spectrum frequencies from Federal use to
exclusive non-Federal use or to shared use.'';
and
(2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``incidental''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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