T-Mobile’s $304 Million Airwaves Booty Caught in FCC Snafu (1)

T-Mobile US Inc. spent $304 million in a government auction last year to win rights to airwaves in most US counties. Now it wants to use the frequencies for its booming 5G wireless service but a Washington snafu stands in the way.

The Federal Communication Commission’s authority to conduct airwave auctions expired March 9 and hasn’t been renewed by Congress. As a result the FCC says it has “paused” issuing the licenses that let auction winners make use of the airwaves they won.

The situation leaves T-Mobile, for now, without rights to use frequencies awarded on Sept. 1 by the ...