Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have introduced the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) Act (S. 1682) in the U.S. Senate. This legislation is intended to encourage the federal government to continue to free up spectrum for commercial licensed and unlicensed use and leverage the success of spectrum auctions to help close the urban-rural divide.
The legislation would establish a spectrum pipeline intended to provide more capacity for wireless providers to improve existing service and expand to new areas. It would also require 10 percent of all of the proceeds from spectrum auctions in the bill to go directly to wireless broadband infrastructure buildout in unserved and underserved areas throughout rural communities across the country.
