As Republicans in the House and Senate search for ways to fund President Trump’s agenda in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill, they should remember the time-proven adage that “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

While some are hopeful that the administration can capture as much as $100 billion by auctioning wireless spectrum, lawmakers would be wise to ask, “What’s the catch?” If they do, they’ll find a better approach, one benefitting taxpayers and consumers alike.

Unquestionably, the federal government owns huge amounts of wireless spectrum, the radio frequencies that underpin everything from Wi-Fi internet to 5G cellular service to missile defense radars. Since the 1990s, Washington has routinely auctioned off chunks of this real estate to private companies, generating revenue for the federal government.

That 1990s system doesn’t work anymore. Back then, the government auctioned spectrum that had few, if any, users. But now, it has to auction bands that are heavily used, including by Department of Defense radar systems. The Navy has estimated that moving all of its systems to different bands would cost $250 billion and take decades. Spending $250 billion in costs to raise $100 billion in revenue is a great example of “only in Washington” math for which our government has become notorious.

Doing nothing isn’t a great solution for taxpayers or consumers, either. Wireless traffic grows yearly, especially over WiFi, which carries between 80% and 90% of smartphone internet traffic. Sooner or later, providers will need more capacity to keep up with consumer demand.

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