WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has announced the regulator will hold a July 22 vote on plans to hold an auction of 160 megahertz of spectrum in the Upper C-band (3.98-4.14 GHz) next year.

As part of the Working Families Tax Cut Act passed in 2025, Congress required the FCC to auction at least 100 MHz of C-band spectrum by July of 2027.

The National Association of Broadcasters had pushed the agency to limit the auction to 100 MHz of spectrum, arguing that the Upper C-band is already “operating at its practical limit” and that less spectrum would create a “Tetris-like problem” that could endanger the production of major live events.

In response, the FCC indicated it would accommodate video programming delivery by enabling upgrades in satellite technology and content distribution.

[Editor's note: More detailed comments regarding the impact of the proposals from TV Tech columnist Doug Lung are available below.]

In a June 18 letter to the FCC, satellite operator SES estimated that its “total cost to clear 160 MHz of Upper C-band spectrum will be approximately $3.6 billion, with $150 million allowed for contingencies.”

The FCC does not plan to release its estimated costs of the transition until after the July 22 vote.

The NAB declined to comment at this time.

The proposed rules would effectively harmonize terrestrial wireless operations across the entire C-Band to create a single “super-band” spanning 440 megahertz (3.70-4.14 GHz).

The plan also aims to maximize the amount of spectrum repurposed while establishing a speedy transition for incumbent satellite services and the creation of a successful coexistence environment for critical aviation safety systems in the adjacent band, the FCC said.

“While more complex than your average spectrum auction, the FCC moved from NPRM [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] to Order in record time,” Carr said in a statement. “We have also coordinated with aviation and satellite stakeholders so that wireless providers can light up the Upper C-Band and provide service to most Americans by the end of 2030—ahead of many expectations.”

“The draft Order, which the Commission will vote on during our July 22 meeting, sets the stage for the FCC to auction 160 megahertz of prime, mid-band spectrum next year—exceeding the 100 megahertz minimum established in the law,” he added. “The Upper C-Band auction will also unify a big and contiguous swath of 440 megahertz of spectrum when combined with the Lower C-Band, which the FCC freed up during the previous Trump Administration.”

The FCC said that the auction is expected to raise “many billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury.” as well.

As part of the announcement of the upcoming vote and auction, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying that it “is confident that the use of radio signals from the FCC's 5G auction can safely coexist with aviation after years of FAA-led testing and technical analysis. The FCC worked closely with the FAA while developing its auction rule, which contains key safeguards that protect the band of frequencies that aircraft radio altimeters use. These safeguards include limiting the power of the auctioned 5G signals to levels the FAA has determined are safe for aviation; protecting the altimeter band with a buffer band between it and the band of frequencies that will be auctioned; and limiting the height of 5G transmission towers. Additionally, the FCC rule would ensure the functionality of key altimeter-based alerting systems including Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems.”

Later this summer, the FAA said it will issue its own rule to require aircraft altimeter upgrades to ensure altimeters can safely operate with signals from the 5G wireless signals that will be auctioned.

The FCC stressed that the draft Order, Order of Proposed Modification, and Order on Reconsideration, responds to the surging demand for additional valuable mid-band spectrum for wireless services and puts America on a path towards massive gains that could result in at least $264 billion in GDP, 1.5 million new jobs, and $388 billion in consumer surplus by freeing up additional spectrum.

The 2027 Upper C-Band auction will ultimately result in a 440 megahertz contiguous block of spectrum for the provision of wireless services by combining the Lower C-Band (3.7-3.98 GHz) and now the Upper C-Band (3.98-4.14 GHz).

The draft item, which will be made available to the public on July 1, would make available 160 megahertz of valuable Upper C-Band spectrum through the auction of 3,248 new flexible-use spectrum licenses throughout the contiguous United States.

It also proposes that winning bidders will be responsible for transition costs and incentive payments for in-band licensees, as well as rebates for the purchase and installation of upgraded radio altimeters. In addition, the draft item would allow winning bidders to commence wireless services in the Upper C-Band starting in December 2030 for top-75 markets, and in remaining markets starting July 2031.

The FCC also noted that specific dollar amounts on costs, incentives, and rebates have been redacted from the order prior to the July 22 vote given the sensitive nature of this type of financial information. The agency will release the figures publicly with the Commission’s vote.

The draft Order, Order of Proposed Modification and Order on Reconsideration will be made available to the public on July 1 via FCC.gov.

WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has laid out his plan for how the C-band will be used to spur 5G development, announcing his plans to conduct a public auction of 280 MHz of the spectrum with a potential launch date of Dec. 8.

Pai unveiled his plan to the public, shortly after doing so to the FCC commissioners, during a speech at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. After detailing the importance of America becoming a leader in the development and deployment of 5G, and how his administration has already made strides to do so in high and low-band spectrum, Pai detailed a plan to take advantage of mid-band spectrum, also known as the C-band, which is used by satellite operators for the delivery of video and audio to broadcasters, cable systems and other content distributors.

In devising his plan, Pai said that he was guided on four key principles: 1) a significant amount of C-band spectrum must be made available for 5G; 2) it must be done quickly; 3) it must generate revenue for the federal government; and 4) it must ensure that the services currently delivered using the C-band can continue to be delivered.

As had widely been reported previously, Pai is opting to go with a public auction of the spectrum over a private auction. Pai cited the FCC’s track record in conducting public auctions and the transparency that they offer as “the best bet to ensure fairness,” he said. He also claimed that a well-established process is more likely to attract bidders rather than a new system.

He also made the point that a public auction is within the FCC’s legal authority, where a private auction would have required grant of authorities to private entities as he said satellite companies currently do not have terrestrial rights to the C-band.

Pai believes that the FCC already has the pieces in place to launch the auction sooner rather than later. In fact, he plans to begin the auction before the end of 2020, specifically Dec. 8.

The amount of spectrum that would be available from the public auction, per Pai’s plan, will be the lower 280 MHz of the C-band, a figure that Pai says has been widely supported by the U.S. Senate and the C-Band Alliance. A 20 MHz guard band would be reserved, while the upper 200 MHz would be set for the repacked satellite operations.

“I believe this strikes the appropriate balance between making a large amount of spectrum available for 5G and preserving sufficient spectrum for incumbent users,” Pai said.

Additional details of Pai’s plan include compensation from the auction. While revenue is expected to go to the treasury, Pai said that satellite operators costs for having to relocate on the spectrum should be covered, which the FCC estimates could be between $3 billion and $5 billion. Pai’s rules would have the winning bidders reimburse satellite operators for relocation costs.

Rather than satellite operators receiving proceeds from the auction, Pai outlined additional payments for what he calls accelerated relocation payments. Pai proposes that up to $9.7 billion be paid to satellite operators that clear the lower 100 MHz of the C-band in 46 of the top 50 Partial Economic Areas by September 2021, and the remaining 180 MHz by September 2023. Currently, the FCC says a reasonable deadline for relocation would be September 2025. This, Pai hopes, will be a strong incentive to expedite the relocation process and make spectrum available for 5G development more quickly.

Pai does not want to wait to get this process moving, and believes that the FCC—under Section 316 of the Communications Act—has the authority to do so without the need for legislation from Congress. As such, he has scheduled the commission to vote on the proposal at the open council meeting on Feb. 28.

“This plan meets each of the four priorities I’ve identified in this proceeding,” said Pai. “It frees up a significant amount of C-band spectrum for 5G. It does so quickly. It generates revenue for the U.S. Treasury. And it protects the services that are currently delivered using this spectrum. And I would add that it is a win for innovators who want to introduce new services in the C-band. It is a win for incumbents who will be fairly compensated during this transition. And, most importantly, it is a win for the American people, who will enjoy the rollout of new 5G services.”

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said: “This morning’s announcement is another big win for American leadership in 5G. It means even more mid-band spectrum will power American 5G, the American taxpayer will see billions of dollars of revenue and the C-band services that Americans rely on will be protected. It is a rare win-win-win in Washington, and I am proud to strongly support it.”

Commissioner Michael O’Rielly also said he intends to support the proposal. No statements had been made from Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks at the time of publication.

NAB's Executive Vice President of Communications, Dennis Wharton, also released a statement regarding Pai's proposal: "Today marks an important step towards ensuring a stable C-band ecosystem following reallocation—one that makes significant spectrum available for mobile use while protecting content distribution relied upon by hundreds of millions of Americans today. In this and other spectrum proceedings, NAB has played a leading role developing constructive solutions that provide meaningful benefits to all stakeholders. We look forward to reviewing details of today's plan and working with the FCC towards a solution that benefits both current and new users of the spectrum band."

Pai's full speech is available for download.

WASHINGTON—With a public C-band auction on the horizon, the National Association of Broadcasters and a number of companies that represent large purchases of C-band capacity are fully behind FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s commitment that any plan for the auction will “protect the services that are currently delivered using the C-band so they can continue to be delivered to the American people.”

That quote came from a letter sent by the NAB and the companies—which include Disney, CBS, NBCUniversal, Viacom, A&E, Univision, Fox and Discovery—to FCC Secretary Marlene Dortch in response to an ex parte submission about the C-band.

Pai announced earlier this week that plans are underway to launch a public auction for 300 MHz of the C-band spectrum for the development of 5G. That would leave 200 MHz for current C-band spectrum users to continue their operations, which has been used primarily by satellite operators for the delivery of video and audio content.

“The Chairman’s recognition of the importance of maintaining a robust and reliable content distribution system in the upper 200 MHz of C-band spectrum, free of harmful interference and without proposals to introduce new terrestrial transmissions, whether on a fixed, mobile or flexible use basis, is a critical step in this proceeding,” the letter reads.

NAB and its co-signers also stressed the importance of working with the FCC to make the transition as effective as possible for satellite operators and their customers as they shift to less spectrum.

Other areas regarding the transition brought up in the letter touch on reimbursement costs; interference prevention, detection, mitigation and enforcement; maintenance of the service during the transition; and honoring of the commitments that the C-band satellite companies have made. NAB described these as “essential.”

“We are committed to working closely with the commission, the satellite industry and other stakeholders to ensure a successful transition,” the letter reads.

The full letter can be read on NAB’s website.

WASHINGTON—The FCC is preparing to launch a public spectrum auction for C-band spectrum with the goal of developing 5G wireless connectivity in the mid-band spectrum, according to an announcement today from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Pai made his plans clear in a letter to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on Monday, Nov. 18.

Pai had previously announced that he would determine how the FCC would go about making the C-band spectrum, which resides in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, by this fall. He also outlined four principles that he believed needed to be achieved through the FCC’s rulemaking on the matter: 1) that a significant amount of C-band spectrum be made available for 5G; 2) the spectrum must be made available quickly; 3) revenue must be generated for the federal government; and 4) the services currently using C-band must be protected so as to still serve the Americans who rely on them.

“After much deliberation and a thorough review of the extensive record, I have concluded that the best way to advance these principles is through an auction of 280 megahertz of the C-band conducted by the Federal Communications Commission’s excellent staff,” Pai wrote. “With a quarter-century track record of transparent and successful auctions, I am confident that they will conduct a public auction that will afford all parties a fair opportunity to compete for this 5G spectrum, while preserving the availability of the upper 200 megahertz of this band for the continued delivery of programming.”

The C-Band Alliance had its own proposal of leading a private-run auction, but Congress and many others supported a public auction run by the FCC.

Satellite operator Eutelsat said it welcomed the decision, calling it an “important first step in expediting rapidly and equitably the clearance of C-band frequencies for mobile 5G services.”

The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association issued their own statement: “The chairman’s statement is good news for the fixed wireless industry, and WISPA believes it leaves open the possibility that with a few technical rule amendments/changes, the FCC could permit P2MP by an automated frequency coordinator to protect delivery of programming and quickly bridge digital divides in rural areas.”

No details on the public auction have been made available as of yet.