Up next for the Trump administration? Supercharging wi-fi

Kudos to President Trump's FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who recently completed the first successful spectrum auction in years. Showing no signs of slowing down, Carr has already announced another massive spectrum auction that marked a huge win for taxpayers and internet users. The auction already delivered some 200 additional spectrum licenses to the private sector, and $3.57 billion in new revenue flowing to the U.S. Treasury. Next up will be the Upper C Band auction, in which FCC plans to auction 160 MHz of spectrum in the 3.98 to 4.14 GHz frequency range. Critical mid-band spectrum to enable continued U.S. leadership in 5G and soon 6G. Auctions are generally the most efficient way to allocate resources like spectrum, and have been hugely successful. But not all spectrum is best suited for licensed use, especially considering that about 90 percent of all Internet traffic moves not over mobile carrier networks but over Wi-Fi. So the FCC has the difficult task of balancing growing demand for licensed use – which it is meeting now with its auction authority restored by the Big Beautiful Bill – and the need for more unlicensed spectrum to enable Wi-Fi to continue getting better and faster and able to handle increasing capacity demands. To keep this momentum going, the Trump administration and the FCC should reconsider their plans to designate the lower 7 GHz band for licensed use and instead expand the unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi in that band. That would follow the same logic as the Upper C Band auction, which will be paired with the Lower C Band to create a contiguous 440 megahertz block for wireless use. Wi-Fi currently occupies the 6 GHz band, and expanding it into the lower 7 would allow the wider channels needed for enhanced capabilities and capacity. Spectrum policy is one of those thorny issues that is always hotly debated in D.C. While many don't realize it, spectrum is the backbone of our entire Internet, essentially serving as an invisible highway of airwaves through which all wireless data is carried. Where it becomes contentious as a policy matter is that airwaves are a finite resource, and the Department of Defense currently locks up vast swaths of it to protect its own classified communications, leaving commercial providers eager for additional space. Each newly available block becomes pitched fight between the wireless companies who need exclusive, licensed spectrum and all of the Wi-Fi users who need sufficient unlicensed spectrum. In addition to generating government revenue, such auctions are also massively positive for our economy. CTIA, a trade association representing the wireless communications industry, has pointed out each additional 100 megahertz of new spectrum allocated for 5G generates $390 billion in consumer benefits while creating 1.5 million jobs. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has made it a top priority to ensure that America's network infrastructure is fast, resilient, and built to handle future demand. He is doing a great job of moving quickly with the FCC's newly restored spectrum auction authority, and the next critical front is the home broadband network. Back in 2020, the FCC opened the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, which fundamentally transformed home connectivity. The wisdom of making this added spectrum available for home Wi-Fi became undeniably clear during the pandemic. While rigid European networks choked under the sudden surge of remote work and increased Internet usage, America's robust, flexible broadband infrastructure never wavered. Today, however, new challenges to Wi-Fi connectivity have emerged. As our reliance on smart-home applications and data-heavy devices accelerates, the 6 GHz band is becoming crowded. To unlock the next generation of home connectivity, the most obvious place to look is the adjacent lower 7 GHz band. Combining these frequencies together essentially increases the overall channel width, which would virtually eliminate latency on many of these Wi-Fi applications and keep American networks ahead of the curve. The fight between licensed and unlicensed use in the lower 7 is entirely avoidable if the spectrum hoarders at the Pentagon can be forced to yield some ground. The ideal outcome is to push harder on incumbent government users to free up enough spectrum to provide both the expansion for Wi-Fi and substantial additional licensed spectrum for auction. The combined approach of making additional spectrum available for both licensed and unlicensed use best ensures America's internet providers face robust competition — which, in turn, best assures lower prices, improved speeds, and greater access for American consumers. – Copyright 2026 Jon Decker, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Jon Decker is the executive director of American Commitment and a senior fellow at the Parkview Institute.