If Congress doesn’t act quickly to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission to conduct spectrum auctions, the younger generation could quickly face an economic disaster as the “homework gap” widens.
The FCC’s authority to auction off spectrum lapsed in March for the first time in 30 years. Auctioning spectrum has been a key move in ensuring the growth and competitiveness of our wireless industry. The trade group CTIA warned policymakers that a spectrum policy that ensures both government and commercial interests have sufficient access to critical spectrum bands is crucial to United States’s continued competitiveness in the global market. If we miss this opportunity, we risk losing key 5G innovations to overseas competitors, particularly in China.
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Over 21 million Americans lack access to the internet, and a disproportionate number of these citizens are from either low-income or rural households. This is due to a shortage of spectrum that has bottlenecked the supply of wireless internet and driven up the cost for consumers. Meanwhile, industry leaders estimate that China is set to have over 400% more 5G spectrum than the United States available for commercial use by 2027, threatening our economic competitiveness.
This is especially bad for K-12 education in America because nearly 17 million schoolchildren lack internet access at home. As schools rely more on technology for remote learning, students without high-speed internet are falling further behind, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and inequality. The FCC has already allocated billions of dollars to the Emergency Broadband Benefit since 2021 for assisting students in dire need, but no amount of government funding will solve the underlying problem, which is the low supply of internet infrastructure and spectrum.
The stakes are high, and time is running out. Each year that rural areas go without crucial connectivity is another year of lost learning for students. Urgent action is needed to extend the FCC's auctioning authority to give all students a fair shot at success and safeguard our nation's future.
If spectrum auctions are gone for good, it’s low-income students who lack access to reliable wireless for school work who will be hit the hardest. Without reliable wireless access, these students will struggle to keep up with their classmates who have access to high-speed internet. Moreover, K-12 students are the innovators and entrepreneurs of the future who will be leading our nation very soon. Therefore, setting them up for success is crucial to maintaining the United States’s economic leadership and well-being.
Yet, they’re losing the best years of their lives to the government's inability to come up with proper legislation. Without swift action, we risk leaving a generation of low-income students behind, unable to fully participate in the digital age and compete in an increasingly globalized workforce that relies heavily on the internet.
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In the past, auctions have raised over $233 billion for the U.S. Treasury, provided wireless providers with the key building blocks to deliver new services to American consumers, and paid for critical telecommunications priorities. We cannot afford to lose this valuable revenue source and jeopardize the future of American innovation.
The promise of 5G wireless networks is immense, with the potential to drive innovation in manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and other industries of the future. But to realize this promise, we need to invest in our spectrum policy to ensure both government and commercial interests have sufficient access to key spectrum bands. Congress must act now to restore the FCC's auction authority to safeguard our national security, promote economic security, and keep America ahead in the global 5G race.
Tahmineh Dehbozorgi (@DeTahmineh) is a student at George Washington University focusing on national security and cybersecurity law and an innovation fellow at Young Voices.