Think Tank Analysts Outline Pro-Growth Broadband Reforms

Competitive Enterprise Institute team calls for FCC auction authority renewal, USF funding overhaul, and NTIA bureaucratic reform.

Broadband Breakfast

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 — Analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are urging Congress to enact broad telecommunications reforms as outlined in CEI’s Jan.14 Pro-Growth Agenda for the 119th Congress.

In the agenda, CEI analysts Brian Rankin and Jessica Melugin pushed for reforms to close the digital divide and stimulate economic growth.

“Improved Internet connectivity is essential to promote innovation, reduce socioeconomic inequality at home, and improve America’s global economic competitiveness abroad,” they said.

To do that, the two analysts want Congress to focus on three key issues:

  • Federal Communications Commission auction authority and spectrum allocation;
  • Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program oversight and procedural simplification;
  • Universal Service Fund surcharge and funding mechanism.

FCC auction authority reauthorization

As the FCC goes into a third year with no blanket spectrum auction authority, American technological dominance is at risk, according to CEI.

“The United States is engaged in a global technology competition and is in danger of falling behind by failing to move spectrum from government control into the private sector,” last week’s report said.

The FCC lost its ability to auction spectrum when Congress failed to pass a reauthorization bill in 2023. Both sides have recognized the need to reinstate FCC authority, but neither party has garnered enough support to pass a bill.

CEI wants Congress to prioritize restoring the FCC’s auction power so that internet service providers can access the 3 GigaHertz mid-band spectrum, which is key for 5G service.

“These steps are necessary to maintain technological competitiveness which in turn is necessary for national security,” Rankin and Melugin said.

USF has faced significant scrutiny in the past year, especially after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the surcharge an unconstitutional tax.

The court maintained that the 36.3 percent fee attached to ISP’s revenues was “an unconstitutional tax because Congress violated the non-delegation doctrine by delegating its taxing power to the FCC,” CEI’s report stated.

Rankin and Melugin suggested shifting funding from surcharges to direct congressional appropriations. 

“Restoring Congressional oversight will ensure accountability in fund allocation,” they said.

Read more at Broadband Breakfast