Repurposing the C-Band to Benefit all Americans
Ranking Member
House Committee on Energy & Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Robert E. Latta
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Communications & Technology
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: October 29 Hearing – Repurposing the C-Band to Benefit all Americans
Dear Rep. Walden and Rep. Latta:
To win the all-important race to 5G and maintain our status as the world’s
economic leader, the United States must move quickly to make more wireless spectrum available for 5G deployment. To that end, we strongly urge the Subcommittee on Communications & Technology to support the C-Band Alliance (CBA) plan to reallocate a significant amount of mid-band spectrum through private auctions in the secondary market.
Speed matters in the race to 5G and the C-Band is the most readily available mid-band spectrum. Private auctions will put that spectrum into the hands of U.S. wireless providers much more quickly than other proposed alternatives. At the same time, the CBA’s plan will protect the existing C-Band video and radio services currently used by 120 million U.S. households.
We cannot afford to delay the reallocation of C-Band spectrum. A recent
analysis found that a two-year delay could mean a loss of nearly $18 billion in consumer surplus. In addition, China has already pledged to make the full 500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum available to its wireless carriers. Other Repurposing the C-Band to Benefit all Americans 2
countries including France, Germany, Japan, and Australia are also making the C-Band a key element of their 5G plans.
The economic benefits of repurposing the C-Band to speed 5G deployment will be enormous. Building the network infrastructure necessary to support 5G will drive $275 billion in private sector U.S. investment, spurring $500 billion in economic growth. More than 3 million new jobs will be created for American workers.
In addition to the advantages they will enjoy from a stronger, more competitive U.S. economy, taxpayers will also be protected by the CBA plan; the CBA has repeatedly pledged to make a significant contribution to the U.S. Treasury from auction proceeds. Conversely, U.S. tax revenues will diminish if the C-Band is not rapidly brought to market, as the economy will lose billions of dollars every additional year we fail to make it available.
We commend the Subcommittee on Communications & Technology for holding this hearing to explore mid-band spectrum options for speeding 5G deployment. It is truly one of the most crucial technological issues facing America today. We sincerely hope that as a result of your factfinding you will conclude that the CBA private auction plan holds the most benefits for our nation and join us in giving it your full support.
Sincerely,
Steve Pociask
American Consumer Institute
Mark Jamison
Roslyn Layton
American Enterprise Institute*
Jessica Melugin
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Tim Chapman
Heritage Action for America
Zach Graves
Lincoln Network
Tom Struble
R Street Institute
