The U.S. Federal Communications Commission says it will soon vote on an order that sets up a 2027 auction of mid-band wireless spectrum that is a focus point for 5G use.
In a statement released Tuesday, the FCC said it would vote on July 22 to hold an auction of 160 megahertz of spectrum in what's known as the Upper C-Band next year. Legislation passed last year required the auction of at least 100 megahertz of spectrum but the statement said the FCC aimed to clear "significantly more spectrum than the minimum required under law."
It said it expected the sale to raise billions of dollars.
Various parts of the wireless spectrum are reserved for different kinds of technology and communication services, but the increasing demands of data-hungry phones, connected devices, and autonomous cars have put pressure on regulators to expand the chunk devoted to 5G communications, which operators typically like to use on the C-Band because it offers the ideal mix of broad coverage and high performance.
Because the Upper C-Band is already being used by satellite transmissions and airplane safety aids called altimeters, any future sale would have to make sure new entrants could either safely coexist with devices using the same frequency or that existing incumbents shift to using a different part of the spectrum.
The FCC said its proposed rules envisioned the establishment of "retrofit rebates" to support the domestic aviation sector in upgrading its altimeters so that they're insulated from 5G interference, and that satellite operators would be "fairly and expeditiously" moved out of the reconfigured portion of the Upper C-Band, with financial compensation being paid for clearing the spectrum.
