S. 5333: Advancing American Wi-Fi Against Foreign Adversaries Act

This bill would direct the Department of Commerce to create a plan for how the United States will promote Wi-Fi and other unlicensed wireless technologies in international spectrum discussions, especially ahead of the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27) in Shanghai, China.

What the bill requires

• Sets U.S. policy priorities: Congress states that U.S. leadership in Wi-Fi, 6G, and satellite technologies is a national priority.
• Requires a federal plan: Within 180 days after enactment, the Secretary of Commerce, through the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, must prepare and publish a plan describing how the U.S. will support global use of Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies.
• Coordinates across agencies: Commerce must develop the plan in coordination with the FCC, State Department, U.S. Trade Representative, Department of Defense, intelligence officials, and other relevant agencies.
• Focuses on spectrum policy: The plan must address efforts to promote international agreement on spectrum use for unlicensed technologies, including support for harmonizing use of the 5925 MHz to 7125 MHz band for Wi-Fi and similar uses.
• Includes public input: The Assistant Secretary must seek public comment while developing the plan and consider those comments before finalizing it.
• Addresses foreign influence concerns: The plan must assess and outline strategies to counter efforts by the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government, and other U.S. adversaries that the bill says may try to weaken support for Wi-Fi and unlicensed technologies.
• Reports after WRC-27: Within 90 days after the 2027 conference ends, Commerce must submit a report to Congress on how the plan was carried out, including a way to track progress if possible. The report can be unclassified, with a classified annex if needed.

What it does not do

• It does not directly change FCC rules or U.S. spectrum law by itself.
• It does not allocate specific spectrum in the United States on its own.
• It does not require disclosure of classified, privileged, or trade secret information.

Practical effect

In practice, the bill is mainly a planning and coordination measure. It would require the federal government to create a strategy for advocating internationally for Wi-Fi and related unlicensed wireless technologies, especially in connection with the 2027 global radio conference, and to explain how it will work with allies and respond to foreign efforts that could affect those technologies.

Relevant Companies

• CSCO — Cisco could be affected because it sells networking equipment that relies heavily on Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum policy developments.
• QCOM — Qualcomm could be affected indirectly through its role in wireless standards and technologies tied to Wi-Fi and broader spectrum policy.
• ANET — Arista Networks could be affected because enterprise networking demand and standards can be influenced by Wi-Fi spectrum and deployment policy.
• HPQ — HP Inc. could be affected indirectly through Wi-Fi-enabled consumer and business devices, though the impact would likely be limited.
• NTAP — NetApp could be affected indirectly through enterprise networking and infrastructure trends tied to wireless connectivity.