A whopping $143 billion legislation package that Congress approved Friday includes provisions that should free up airwaves for AT&T, Verizon Wireless and other U.S. mobile-phone operators struggling to keep up with the exploding demand for data services on their networks.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill, whose core provisions include the extension of the payroll tax cut and long-term jobless benefits.
As is relevant to the U.S. wireless industry, the legislation provides for spectrum auctions that aim to generate more than $15 billion in proceeds for the U.S. Treasury. Licensees, including TV broadcasters, would be able to return spectrum in exchange for a portion of the proceeds from a subsequent auction.
"Making spectrum available will make it possible for America's wireless carriers to offer consumers better, faster, more ubiquitous wireless broadband service," said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association, in a statement Friday. "The release of additional spectrum also will spur the investment and job creation that our economy needs."
The bill limits the Federal Communications Commission from excluding certain bidders in an auction. That component of the legislation has proven controversial because FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski had expressed concerns about limiting the agency's authority to conduct such proceedings. AT&T has taken the opposite position and has been vocal about supporting language endorsed by Republicans.
AT&T rival Sprint and other smaller carriers recently asked members of Congress to exclude language that would strip the FCC of its discretion in how it conducts such auctions. They also raised concerns that the biggest wireless providers, namely AT&T and Verizon Wireless, would be able to purchase all the spectrum due to their vast resources if the agency has little discretion in how it manages the auction process.
It appears AT&T prevailed on Capitol Hill after members of the House and Senate reached an accord on the spectrum language.
"This legislation makes clear that any party that is able to meet specific, traditional qualifications to hold a spectrum license is entitled to participate in the auction, and cannot be excluded," said Republican Reps. Fred Upton and Greg Walden in a statement Thursday. "This will ensure auctions produce the greatest revenue for taxpayers, while also making certain that the spectrum is used where and how it offers the greatest value, as determined by the market."
