FCC to 'Resume' 2.5 GHz Licensing After Biden Signs 5G Sale Act
The FCC will “resume” the process for issuing licenses to T-Mobile and other winners of the 2022 2.5 GHz auction following President Joe Biden’s signing of the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act (S-2787), a commission spokesperson emailed us Wednesday.…
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The president's signing of S-2787 was expected (see 2312120067). House passage of the measure last week (see 2312110062) gives the FCC authority for 90 days to issue the 2.5 GHz licenses. Lawmakers viewed the legislation as a stopgap measure, required after months of stalled Capitol Hill talks on a broader package to renew the FCC’s lapsed general auction authority (see 2312040001). “We welcome” S-2787’s enactment “and hope it’s a precursor to full restoration of the FCC’s” mandate, the commission spokesperson said. The FCC can “expeditiously issue” T-Mobile the “7,000+ 2.5 GHz licenses” it won in the auction, Vice President-Federal Government Relations Tony Russo posted on X Wednesday. T-Mobile is “ready to deploy” that spectrum “and improve connectivity for millions of Americans nationwide!” S-2787 lead sponsor Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he’s “grateful to see my bill signed into law so that more Americans have the tools they need to do their jobs and grow their businesses.”