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# Carriers, Sharing Proponents Publish Dueling Reports on 4.4 GHz
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/carriers-sharing-proponents-publish-dueling-reports-on-4-4-ghz/
- Published: 2026-09-17T16:31:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-09T21:48:21.000Z
- Description: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said that an auction in the band would be years away
- Author: Jake Neenan
- Tags: Spectrum, CTIA, Spectrum for the Future, Valo Analytica, Ajit Pai, Brendan Carr, NTIA, #with-siderail

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2026 – Trade groups for wireless carriers and spectrum sharing proponents have opposing goals for a large swathe of government spectrum.

In a [Wednesday report](https://api.ctia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Optimizing-the-4-GHz-Band-for-Americas-Economic-and-National-Security.pdf?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), CTIA, the mobile industry group, argued the 4.4 GigaHertz (GHZ) band should be identified for exclusive licensed use. That’s the kind of higher-power spectrum the mobile carriers’ networks run on.

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Meanwhile Spectrum for the Future, which represents sharing proponents like the cable industry and consumer advocacy groups, released [a report Thursday](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KgQprBWzVrbD59rEGBqa31KkCTc1JQD%5F/view?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) that said the band could be used sooner and more efficiently through a medium-power sharing regime.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is about to study the band with the aim of opening up a portion of it to the private sector.

There are 15 agencies using the band, with the Defense Department and Justice Department taking up the largest portions. NTIA got study plans from each of them and is currently waiting on Congress to sign off and release funding for those efforts.

Any auction would be handled by the Federal Communications Commission. FCC Chairman **Brendan Carr** said Wednesday that likely wouldn’t come in the near future. The agency typically auctions exclusive licenses, but has auctioned priority licenses in a shared band.

“Let’s focus on what we have in front of us for the next three years,” he quipped after being asked about 4.4 GHz at a CTIA event in Washington. “Four GHz is going to be awesome in 2030, but we have got a lot of marks to hit between now and then.”

### *CTIA report*

CTIA said that NTIA should finish up government studies and identify at least 400 megahertz of the band for licensed use by 2028\. 

The group was aligned with Carr on the auction timeline, saying an FCC auction should come no later than 2030.

CTIA said the U.S. should try to rally support for mobile use in 4.4-4.8 GHz globally at upcoming regional meetings this fall. The World Radiocommunication Conference will consider a global mobile allocation in the band next year.

The group said wireless demand would likely grow faster as artificial intelligence use became more common, and a large contiguous slice of additional spectrum would be needed for U.S. mobile networks to keep up.

An equipment ecosystem already exists for the band, and other countries have already tapped 4 GHz for mobile use within their borders, the group argued.

As for the government users, CTIA said many of the federal systems only operate in certain places at certain times, and that they could be protected via geographic coordination. The group claimed drive tests showed minimal government use of 4 GHz in Chicago, Denver, and San Diego.

CTIA said auction proceeds would be enough to cover relocation costs for any systems that had to be moved to accommodate mobile use in the band. 

“The 4 GHz band is a unique opportunity to strengthen America’s wireless future,” CTIA CEO **Ajit Pai** said [in a statement](https://www.ctia.org/news/4-ghz-is-key-to-securing-americas-wireless-and-ai-leadership-ctia-report-finds?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com). “Beginning work this fall is our best chance at freeing up the spectrum needed to meet surging AI demand, fuel innovation, expand access to affordable broadband, and reassert America’s global wireless leadership.” 

Pai led the FCC during the first Trump administration.

### *Spectrum for the Future report*

Spectrum for the Future commissioned a report from Valo Analytica that argued NTIA should consider instituting a sharing regime as it conducts its studies.

Sharing spectrum would avoid potentially costly and time-consuming relocation, and allow airwaves to be put to use much sooner, the Valo report argued. 

The often geographically isolated uses of the band would make it a good candidate for sharing, as in most places it could be freely used without interrupting government systems, the group wrote. The 6 GHz and CBRS bands are currently shared with mechanisms the group said could be implemented in 4.4 GHz.

For Spectrum for the Future and Valo, the [main benefit](https://spectrumfuture.com/new-analysis-sharing-could-unlock-more-4-4-ghz-spectrum-for-the-ai-era/?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) of a sharing regime would be that companies and others could deploy private networks that wouldn’t be possible if a carrier owned exclusive rights to the airwaves. That’s something manufacturers and others [already use](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/cbrs-proponent-studies-changes-to-shared-band-would-be-disruptive/) CBRS for.

More private networks could help enable automated factories, live container monitoring at ports, and better monitoring of energy infrastructure, among other things, the report argued.

“America’s finite public resource of spectrum needs to be put to its highest and greatest use that benefits a wide swath of Americans, not a select few,” Spectrum for the Future wrote in [a one-pager](https://spectrumfuture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SFTF-4-4-GHz-One-Pager-9.16.26.pdf?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com). “Spectrum sharing offers the greatest opportunity to reach that goal.”