FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced plans to auction key mid-band spectrum for 5G later this year. On 28 February, the FCC will vote on the plans to auction 70 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band in June and 280 MHz in the C band (3.7-4.2 GHz) in December.
The C band, currently occupied by satellite operators for broadcast services, has been under consideration by the FCC since 2017. While the satellite operators had hoped to sell off the frequencies themselves, Pai announced last year that he favoured a public auction. He has now sweetened the offer with the promise of up to USD 9.7 billion in incentive payments for the satellite operators to vacate part of the band quickly.
The proposal would see the lower 280 MHz of the range (3.7-3.98 MHz) devoted to wireless broadband, a guard band at 3.98-4.0 GHz, and the satellite operators moved to the upper 200 MHz, at 4.0-4.2 GHz. Satellite operators would be reimbursed for the costs of refarming, such as new satellites and ground station filters, by the winners of the spectrum auction.
The additional incentive payments, paid by the winners of the auction as well, would help speed up the release of the frequencies for 5G. Satellite operators would be eligible for the payments if they clear the lower 120 MHz by September 2021 in 46 of the country's 50 top economic areas and clear the remaining 180 MHz in those areas as well as all 300 MHz in the rest of the continental US by September 2023. Without the accelerated payments, the spectrum would need to be cleared by September 2025.
Satellite operators neutral
The C-Band Alliance, formed by the satellite operators Intelsat, Telesat and SES, gave a cautious statement after Pai's announcement. They welcomed the progress by the FCC, calling this a "significant development", and said they would study the FCC's full draft order once published after the meeting.
Intelsat issued a similar statement on its own, while underlining its commitment to the US economy. The company said it has invested USD
In addition to the proposal for the C-Band auction on 08 December, the FCC will vote at its 28 February meeting on the 3.5 GHz band auction for 25 June. It also plans to approve the auction of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for 22 October.
