What happened
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on 7 October and published on 8 October draft items for its 29 October open meeting. Two of them deal with spectrum for terrestrial mobile and direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services.
The auction proposal
A draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes rules that could lead to an auction of 25 MHz in the 1675-1695 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz bands. The 1675-1695 MHz band would be reallocated for co-primary fixed and mobile use alongside federal weather-satellite operations. Both bands would get a secondary mobile-satellite allocation for supplemental coverage from space (SCS).
The proposed band plan has two unpaired 10 MHz blocks and one unpaired 5 MHz block. Licensees could use the spectrum for uplink, downlink or time-division duplexing. According to Covington's Inside Global Tech, the draft proposes 15-year licence terms, open eligibility and no pre-auction spectrum cap. It seeks comment on bidding procedures, coordination with federal users, guard bands and buildout requirements.
The draft describes the item as part of a wider Administration plan to make up to 400 MHz available for commercial use through auction by 2028, including spectrum in the 2.7 GHz and 7 GHz bands.
Satellite-to-phone rules
A separate draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would make an additional 482 MHz of spectrum available for SCS, remove what the FCC calls burdensome SCS requirements, and look at aligning the SCS and Mobile Satellite Service rules. CNBC reported that the proposals could benefit companies such as SpaceX and Amazon, which are expanding D2D services.
Also on the agenda
The meeting will also consider opening 50 MHz of the 800 MHz cellular band to drones, an NPRM on vetting recipients of high-cost Universal Service Fund support, and national security items.
The items are drafts and could change before the vote.
Why it matters financially
New auctionable mid-band spectrum and a 400 MHz pipeline to 2028 point to future auction revenue for the US Treasury and new capital commitments for mobile operators. Opening 482 MHz to supplemental coverage from space could widen the market for satellite-to-phone partnerships between satellite firms and mobile operators. No reserve prices or revenue estimates have been published.