Most of the time, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” However, if a free lunch is offered, always accept! Such an opportunity exists for Congress right now, and next year, to auction access to the invisible airwaves managed by the federal government — airwaves that facilitate communication between phones, radios, and Wi-Fi devices, to name a few. These auctions offer a rare free lunch in public policy, serving as a powerful tool to spur innovation, generate substantial government revenue, and bolster the United States’s global dominance — all at no cost to the taxpayer. 

Spectrum, the backbone of modern communication, is the range of electromagnetic frequencies used for transmitting data. As the demand for wireless services, be it mobile phones, Wi-Fi, or satellite communications, increases, the need for efficiently allocated spectrum does so, too.