H.R. 651

119 HR 651 IH: Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-01-23
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 651  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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025  .
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.
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 .