US President Joe Biden has stamped his signature on the 5G SALE Act which lets the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocate 2.5 GHz frequency licenses to mobile network operators. This basically means that T-Mobile is now able to get the licenses it won back in 2022.
Quite recently, the FCC halted all of its spectrum auctions as its statutory authority expired in March 2023. The 5G SALE Act gives the regulator a temporary authority to transact a few processes including the licenses for 2.5 GHz airwaves. T-Mobile US had won over 7,100 licenses in auction in 2022 for about $304 million. However, due to the previous ruling, it was not able to deploy them into operation.
The 5G SALE Act gives authority to the FCC to transfer the licenses to the MNOs. It won’t get the auction authority though. Telcos have long sought that the FCC get license authority since the FCC’s said authority was invalidated. READ NEXT: T-Mobile gets 4.3 Gbps 5G speed using mmWave frequencies
Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) President and CEO Patrick Halley echoed in favor of the operators’ demand that not reinstating FCC’s authority auction would dampen the US’s growth in mobile communication. He said: “While I appreciate that the rightful winners of the 2.5 GHz licenses will no longer be held hostage, it’s imperative that Congress restore the FCC’s auction authority with a long-term reauthorization. Anything less will continue to hamper the advancement of America’s mobile communications and put us in the competitive backseat against China and other global competitors.”
T-Mobile provides 4G LTE and 5G services covering 99% of the country with Extended Range 4G LTE/5G and Ultra Capacity 5G. The telco claims to deliver from 75 Mbps to up to 1 Gbps peak speeds with its Ultra Capacity 5G.