FCC 'Delete Delete Delete' review threatens amateur spectrum allocations

In March 2025, the FCC released a public notice titled 'Delete, Delete, Delete' initiating a broad regulatory review of all FCC rules, including amateur radio allocations. The FCC has a target of $16 billion in Treasury contributions from spectrum auctions. Who has this problem? Every one of the 770,000+ licensed amateur radio operators in the United States. So what? Amateur radio's HF allocations (particularly the 3.5 MHz and 7 MHz bands) and microwave allocations overlap with frequencies that commercial 5G and broadband providers covet. So what? If even portions of amateur bands are reallocated, operators lose access to specific propagation characteristics that cannot be replicated on other frequencies — 40 meters for regional nighttime communication, 80 meters for short-range emergency nets, 1.2 GHz for amateur satellite uplinks. So what? Unlike commercial licensees who can bid in auctions, amateur radio has no revenue stream to compete for spectrum — the service exists purely on public interest grounds. So what? A successful reallocation would be permanent and irreversible, as once spectrum is auctioned to commercial users, it is never returned. Why does this persist? Amateur radio generates zero direct revenue for the FCC or Treasury, while commercial spectrum auctions generate billions. The political constituency for amateur radio (hobbyists and emergency volunteers) is far smaller and less organized than the telecom industry lobby.