- The FCC is proud of the record revenue raised in its previous C-band auction and is patterning the next C-band auction off that
- But it’s trying to avoid the types of conflicts that arose between the wireless and aviation industries
- All affected parties will get a chance to weigh in before the agency sets the final upper C-band auction rules
The last C-band auction conducted by the FCC produced record bids – more than $81 billion – for the U.S. Treasury, but it also came with some major headaches. Namely, the aviation industry screamed bloody murder when Verizon and AT&T tried to actually use the lower C-band spectrum (3.7-3.98 GHz) for 5G due to worries over interference.
Those concerns eventually were addressed after months of legal wrangling and negotiations. But the FCC would like to avoid those kinds of pitfalls with the next C-band auction involving airwaves in the upper (3.98-4.2 GHz) portion of the band.
The FCC voted unanimously today to move forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that examines a range of options for auctioning at least 100 megahertz and possibly up to 180 megahertz of upper C-band spectrum. Congress mandated that an auction of these airwaves must take place by July 4, 2027.
Basically, the NPRM is the FCC’s lingo for officially kicking off a proceeding that asks a bunch of questions about how they should proceed with the auction – including how to reimburse the current fixed satellite occupants of the spectrum. It also inquires about ways to ensure 5G/6G co-existence with adjacent aviation radio altimeters.
In prepared statements, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr noted that discussions have been ongoing between the FCC, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as well as the wireless and aviation industries.
“We have been working hard with all of those stakeholders, and I am pleased with the collaboration that we’ve been seeing,” he said.
FCC’s upper C-band moves
Carr got the upper C-band ball rolling earlier this year when he opened a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment on whether the commission should make some or all of the upper C-band spectrum available for more intensive use.
That set off what appeared to be an epic fight between the terrestrial wireless industry and Elon Musk’s desire for more spectrum for his SpaceX/Starlink satellite endeavors. (It’s worth noting, the upper C-band is only one swath of spectrum that’s been on SpaceX’s radar.)
But then a series of things happened – one big one being SpaceX’s pending purchase of EchoStar’s 2 GHz and AWS-3 spectrum. Those agreements reduce the pressure on the FCC to make upper C-band spectrum available to fulfill Musk’s interests, according to a research note by New Street Research analyst Blair Levin.
Besides that, a coalition of diverse industries – including CTIA, the Aerospace Industries Association, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile – in early October presented the FCC with a consensus framework that they came up with. That precipitated Carr’s recent move to circulate the upper C-band auction item, according to Levin.
The coalition’s support of an upper C-band auction plan doesn’t solve all the FCC’s concerns, but it goes a long way to resolving the most difficult ones and provided the basis for the FCC to move ahead, Levin said.
Today’s passage of the NPRM sets off a 30-day deadline period for comments and then another round of reply comments due 30 days after that. If all goes as planned, the FCC will be well on its way to meeting its July 2027 upper C-band auction deadline.