FCC To Unleash An Economic Boom, Thanks To Trump Tax Bill

The Federal Communications Commission is wasting no time unleashing the spectrum made available by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency is preparing to auction 160 megahertz of Upper C-Band spectrum, one of the largest blocks of mid-band spectrum ever brought to market, and he’s doing it faster than anyone expected. That’s great news for customers, businesses, and the U.S. economy.

Restoring the FCC’s authority to auction spectrum licenses to the private sector was one of the many fantastic provisions of the Big Beauty that went largely unnoticed but has massive positive economic implications.

Chairman Carr wasted no time putting that authority to work. Making more prime spectrum available at auction is exactly the kind of pro-growth action businesses have been waiting for, enabling the U.S. to expand 5G and soon 6G technology, while ensuring American dominance in internet and artificial intelligence.

This auction is projected to generate over $400 billion in economic activity and support about 2.5 million American jobs, according to industry estimates. It will accomplish that by moving spectrum that was being largely wasted by government agencies into private hands in the fairest and most efficient way possible — by taking the highest bidder.

That carries the extra benefit of reducing the federal deficit.  Since 1994, FCC spectrum auctions have generated more than $233 billion for the U.S. Treasury, but the auctions stalled for years when the authority lapsed before the Big Beautiful Bill restored it.

Private companies bid billions of dollars for the right to use this valuable public asset because they know they can earn a return on their investment. It’s a win-win for taxpayers, companies, their employees, and ultimately their customers.

Spectrum doesn’t create jobs or attract investment sitting idle on the books of federal agencies. It creates both when private companies can use it to build wireless networks and connect millions of Americans to the digital economy of the future. The faster that happens, the better, so the FCC deserves a lot of credit for moving as quickly as possible.

Spectrum is the lifeblood of the wireless sector, which has become one of the great success stories of the American economy. The real cost of wireless service has fallen by more than 41% over the past decade while Americans are getting faster speeds, using more data, and paying less due to more supply and competition.

Making more spectrum available will help companies extend reliable wireless service to more Americans, expand 5G home broadband competition to nearly 440,000 additional households, and give consumers another option to compete with cable.

This auction can’t come soon enough. We trail foreign competitors in terms of licensed mid-band availability by an average of 250 megahertz. And other countries aren’t standing still: Europe plans to make an additional 700 megahertz available in short order while China plans to license 1660 megahertz for commercial use.

If America wants to lead the next generation of wireless technology, more spectrum must come to market. The next generation of economic growth will be powered by 5G, 6G, AI, advanced manufacturing, and beyond. All of it will require better, faster, higher-capacity, and more reliable connectivity. This auction helps make sure those investments are made here in America and that we dominate the AI age as thoroughly as we did the Internet age.

The Upper C-Band auction is an important reminder that smart policy can produce real results, and the Big Beautiful Bill was packed with one economic gem after another. Kudos to President Trump and Chairman Carr.

Steve Moore is co-founder of Unleash Prosperity.

Views expressed by guest contributors to Issues & Insights are their own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the I&I Editorial Board.