FCC proposes 25 MHz spectrum auction for US 5G and D2D

By James Calloway

On October 30, 2026, the FCC proposed auctioning 25 MHz of prime mid-band spectrum in the 1675–1695 MHz and 2020–2025 MHz bands. The proposal covers flexible-use terrestrial networks such as 5G and direct-to-device operations.

The FCC says the auction would “supercharge wireless competition in the US.” That phrase is a policy prediction, not a measured result. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking starts the process for the latest auction; final rules and a sale timetable would still be required.

More than $45 billion (€40.3 billion) in direct-to-device deal flow was approved by, or submitted to the FCC for approval, during the past year alone. The FCC links recent investment and innovation to increased demand for D2D spectrum and growing potential for intermodal convergence.

That $45 billion is not a completed-market revenue total. The measure combines deals approved with transactions awaiting FCC review, and the notice discloses no US subscriber count, coverage footprint, deployment number or throughput result for the proposed service. The commercial case therefore rests on capital flow and regulatory demand, not an operator performance claim.

What does the proposal change for operators?

The immediate change is access to a proposed auction process, not possession of new spectrum. A successful rulemaking and auction would give terrestrial operators more mid-band capacity options while creating a defined secondary path for mobile satellite service providers seeking domestic supplemental coverage from space.

• 1675–1695 MHz: The FCC would give fixed and mobile services, except aeronautical mobile, co-primary status for new non-federal use. Mobile satellite service would receive secondary status for domestic supplemental coverage from space, or SCS, subject to NTIA’s study of the band under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
• 2020–2025 MHz: The FCC would add a secondary mobile satellite service allocation for domestic SCS. It would also make the band available through auction for terrestrial commercial use.
• 1675–1680 MHz: The new proposal expands a 2019 FCC proposal to reallocate this portion for shared use between incumbent federal operations and new non-federal flexible wireless operations.

The FCC says the combined terrestrial and secondary-satellite approach preserves maximum flexibility and best use of the spectrum. The allocation language gives operators and satellite providers more procedural clarity, but it does not remove the federal-use or NTIA-study dependencies.

The proposal also does not establish when the spectrum would reach auction or what licenses would cost. Those points would require final FCC action and auction procedures. No coverage obligation, subscriber estimate or network-deployment schedule accompanies the proposal.

The FCC recently completed a $3.5 billion auction of AWS-3 inventory spectrum. It also plans to auction 160 megahertz of Upper C-band spectrum by July 2027. Across the broader program, the US administration plans to make up to 400 megahertz of spectrum available for commercial use through auction by 2028, including spectrum in the 2.7 GHz and 7 GHz bands.

The timing distinguishes a completed result from future supply. The $3.5 billion AWS-3 sale is finished. The Upper C-band sale and the proposed 25 MHz remain future auctions, and the notice sets no date for the 25 MHz sale.

The FCC says the spectrum process will “continue to create tremendous economic value for the American people.” The statement is an agency forecast, not a measured return on the proposed sale. The proposal publishes no license-price forecast, coverage target or subscriber estimate for the new bands.

The next policy checkpoints are NTIA’s study, FCC final action on the allocations and the release of auction rules for the 25 MHz. The 160 MHz Upper C-band auction remains scheduled by July 2027, while the wider plan targets up to 400 MHz by 2028. Until those steps occur, the added 25 MHz remains proposed spectrum, not deployed capacity.