The FCC’s landmark actions during the first Trump Administration to unlock more spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi and to launch the innovative Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band set off a wave of private-sector innovation. These decisions are paying dividends. They have sparked billions in investment, given rise to new industries, accelerated domestic hardware manufacturing, and helped to make real progress toward more competitive and affordable mobile connectivity for Americans.
The CBRS band (3.55–3.7 GHz) introduced a first-of-its-kind framework that allows 5G commercial users to share spectrum dynamically with critical government and military systems. The 6 GHz band was opened to unlicensed use, enabling next-gen Wi-Fi performance. These smart, forward-looking policies have driven rapid deployment of advanced networks, powered a new ecosystem of made-in-America tech, and unlocked real savings for consumers.
Since those decisions, thousands of companies—from broadband providers to tech manufacturers—have invested and scaled based on a clear regulatory roadmap. It has become a foundation for increased private investment, stimulating economic growth, and building trust from consumers.
But some are not happy with this new progress. To the legacy cellular carriers, new innovative spectrum models and economic progress are a competitive threat, not a consumer benefit. That is why we see the cellular giants pushing some policymakers to shift away from traditional efforts to identify federal frequencies that can support commercial services, to approaches that would reclaim and repurpose existing commercial bands, redistributing the pie among winners and losers rather than expanding the pie for all. That move would be a massive step backward—and a direct threat to the consumer and economic gains already made.
What’s at stake: real networks, real benefits
Cable broadband providers have built robust CBRS small cell networks designed to meet localized demand efficiently and affordably. These networks already handle around 90% of their mobile data traffic via Wi-Fi and CBRS, enabling speeds nearly 40% faster than traditional cellular and saving consumers about $1,000 annually.
Wi-Fi continues to be an indispensable part of this equation. Providers have deployed over 43 million hotspots and continue upgrading to multi-gigabit, 6 GHz-enabled routers that deliver speeds 110% faster than earlier generations. The 6 GHz band is already carrying the majority of traffic and usage will only surge as the sales of 6 GHz-enabled devices across North America grows from 100 million last year to a projected 367 million by 2029.
This isn’t speculation—it’s happening now
CBRS and 6 GHz are not open questions—they are live, working infrastructure. More than 1,000 CBRS operators have deployed over 400,000 base stations in just five years—matching what legacy wireless companies built over four decades. And American manufacturers are supplying the hardware driving this rollout, strengthening domestic supply chains and creating jobs.
Rolling back access to these bands would dismantle this progress. As one Wall Street analyst put it, it would be like “a government exercising its eminent domain rights to condemn and tear down a Costco to give the land to a Walmart”—a clear-cut case of the government picking winners and losers.
Time to grow the pie, not redistribute between winners and losers
Congress and the administration have an opportunity to protect this progress. As spectrum policy is debated in reconciliation and beyond, lawmakers should focus on unlocking more federally controlled spectrum—not taking away bands that are already being used successfully and efficiently by the private sector.
The CBRS and 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands are working—for consumers, for innovation, and for the U.S. economy. Any attempt to claw them back would undermine the very market forces that made these policies a success. Congress should make clear that these bands are off-limits for reassignment to legacy carriers’ exclusive use, and instead double down on policies that drive competition, investment, and American leadership in the global digital economy.
