S.Amdt. 2423

This amendment, submitted by Ms. Rosen, proposes specific changes to section 40002 of a larger legislative effort. If we want to hold our officials accountable, we need to know what they are trying to rewrite. Here is what this change actually does:

• It defines key terms like Assistant Secretary, Commission, and covered band, which is set as the band of frequencies between 1.3 gigahertz and 10.5 gigahertz with certain exclusions.

• It explicitly excludes specific frequency bands—specifically between 3.1 gigahertz and 3.45 gigahertz, and between 7.4 gigahertz and 8.4 gigahertz—from being auctioned, reallocated, modified, or withdrawn.

• It extends the expiration date for the Federal Communications Commission to complete a system of competitive bidding to September 30, 2034, while carving out exceptions where this authority does not apply for the excluded frequency bands.

• It requires the Commission to grant licenses through competitive bidding before its general auction authority expires for not less than 300 megahertz across the entire spectrum band, including completing bidding within 2 years for at least 100 megahertz in the band between 3.98 gigahertz and 4.2 gigahertz.

• It directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, working with the Commission, to identify 500 megahertz of frequencies in the covered band that are currently allocated for Federal use to be reallocated for non-Federal, shared, or commercial use, which will be in addition to the 300 megahertz mentioned above.