The Trump Administration is seeking billions in new “user fees” charged to broadcasters, cable and satellite providers that would likely be passed along to consumers as a new surcharge on their cable, wireless, and broadband bills.

The White House, at the request of the Federal Communications Commission, backs increasing user fees to help fund the $4.8 trillion 2019 federal budget. The new fees would be in addition to FCC-imposed “regulatory fees” that are already passed on to customers by most providers.

The fee, vaguely called a “spectrum management tool,” in the FCC’s 2019 budget request, includes few details. Broadcasters have seen similar proposals before, and have attacked them as a way to get TV stations to give up valuable channel holdings. Various administrations have proposed user fees designed to encourage license-holders to abandon less valuable spectrum so it can be repurposed for other uses. But the powerful broadcaster lobby — the National Association of Broadcasters, has successfully appealed to strike similar proposals in the past.

Other mandatory fees, including franchise and regulatory fees, special tax levies, and mandatory surcharges have traditionally been passed along to individual subscribers, often at a markup by the provider. It seems unlikely this fee would not be passed along as well.