WISPA Says Senate Reconciliation Bill a Mixed Bag for Small ISPs

The following statement may be attributed to WISPA – The Association for Broadband Without Boundaries:

Washington, DC, July 1, 2025 – Today’s Senate passage of its reconciliation package provides small ISPs some much-needed tax relief – such as making permanent the 199A qualified pass-through deduction – to help grow their businesses in America’s heartland.  But what it gives with one hand it potentially takes away with another.

More specifically, in its quest to generate revenues to pay for the legislation, it could put CBRS and 6 GHz spectrum on the auction block at the FCC.  Both bands are heavily used by small ISPs to bring service and bridge digital divides in rural America.  Millions there live better lives because of such services.  The critical federal operations that motivated Congress to protect operations in the 3.1 – 3.45 GHz band and 7.1 – 8.4 GHz spectrum bands also exist in the CBRS band, located at 3.55 – 3.70 GHz.  And the current sharing scheme in the 6 GHz band protects important public safety and other licensed operations, while allowing 850 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum to connect more Americans to 100/20 Mbps service in rural areas.  For these reasons, the CBRS and 6 GHz bands should also have been exempted from an FCC auction.

America’s small ISPs need to know their private capital will not be eroded by smothering taxes, and that their investments – such as those for CBRS and 6 GHz – are sound and can be built upon.  While we appreciate the Senate’s work to achieve the former, as to the latter, potentially taking infrastructure away from America’s hometown ISPs will undermine our nation’s goal of bridging the digital divide.  This is made even harder to understand given that a company like AT&T – whom the President derided yesterday as “totally unable to make their equipment work properly” due to a failed conference call with faith leaders – stands most to gain from any such auction.

When/if the bill becomes law, we pledge our staunch efforts to help the FCC understand the integral role CBRS and 6 GHz services play in our national economy, urging the agency to leave those bands alone in meeting the calls of the legislation.

WISPA – Broadband Without Boundaries
WISPA’s members provide fixed broadband connectivity and include equipment suppliers, support services, and other industry partners and stakeholders. Our members provide broadband access to millions of residential and business customers in rural, urban, and Tribal areas across America.

Contact
Mike Wendy
WISPA
202-763-5257
mwendy@wispa.org