In the US, the Federal Communications Commission is preparing for two major initiatives: the return of auctioning spectrum licenses and a top-to-bottom assessment of the nation's emergency alert system.

The FCC's ability to auction spectrum had expired but was restored in a bill signed by President Donald Trump on July 4th. The frequencies eyed for auction are in the so-called "AWS-3" band, for advanced wireless services. These are unused microwave frequencies that have been allocated for 5G commercial wireless. The auctions would be the first of their kind in the US in four years.

The FCC has also prioritized a systemwide re-evaluation of the nation's emergency communications technology. The Emergency Alert System makes use of radio and TV while the Wireless Emergency Alerts utilize mobile devices. The FCC is set to vote on moving ahead with this systemwide assessment at its August 7th meeting, with an eye toward pushing for upgraded technologies.