Upper C-Band Auction Unlikely for Next 12 Months: FCC
An upper C-band auction is unlikely to start in FY 2026, the FCC Office of Economics and Analytics said in an annual update on projected auction activity in the next fiscal year, which begins Wednesday. The report projected that the AWS-3 reauction will get underway but didn’t provide additional timing details. The report was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest. “In the next twelve months, the Commission will also consider competitive bidding for licenses for spectrum in other services in its inventory that is well-suited for 5G and has been licensed in prior auctions, such as, without limitation, 600 MHz spectrum,” the report said.
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CTIA, meanwhile, reported on meetings last week with FCC staff urging the commission to “move swiftly” to seek comment “on proposed timelines for auctioning, transitioning, and opening Upper C-band spectrum for full-power terrestrial wireless use.” CTIA noted that the reconciliation law requires an auction within two years. “The success of the initial C-band auction and transition was due to favorable characteristics of mid-band airwaves, decisive actions by the FCC, and substantial work that myriad stakeholders undertook to rapidly transition and safely deploy the band,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 25-59.