Disagreement Persists on Satellite use of Millimeter Wave Spectrum
Satellite companies want easier access, while carriers say that could upend licenses they purchased.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2026 – Mobile carriers and satellite operators still disagree on how to share certain high-frequency spectrum bands.
The Federal Communications Commission is looking to increase usage in Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) spectrum, which encompasses the airwaves sold in the agency’s millimeter wave auctions. It’s in the 24 GigaHertz (GHz), 28 GHz, upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 47 GHz, and 50 GHz bands and currently allocated for sharing between terrestrial mobile operators and fixed-satellite service.
Satellite providers want easier access to the airwaves via an FCC “light licensing” framework that would make it easier to register Earth stations, while the carriers fear that would upend licenses they spent billions acquiring. They would prefer the agency incentivize private deals between satellite companies and mobile license holders, partly by allowing Earth stations deployed under those deals to count toward carriers’ build out milestones.
“Light licensing is ready now. The framework and mechanisms already exist and are ready to use with only simple, straightforward updates,” SpaceX Satellite Policy Associate Matthew Turk wrote in reply comments posted Thursday on the FCC’s website. “And importantly, terrestrial operators can continue providing the same services and quality of service with minimal disruption.”
The FCC said the rulemaking was partially motivated by the difficulty carriers have had putting the airwaves to use. Millimeter wave spectrum can carry lots of data, making it useful for high-traffic areas like sports venues, but doesn’t travel long distances or punch through obstacles well, making outdoor deployment harder.
Still, CTIA, the major wireless industry group, argued that “a transition to a light licensing framework midway through the license term would set a dangerous precedent by undermining licensees’ rights, chilling participation in future auctions, and moving the goal posts on performance obligations.”
The three national carriers each spent about $2 billion in the FCC’s millimeter wave spectrum auctions, and Verizon is in the process of acquiring Starry and its proprietary millimeter wave technology.
“The light licensing proposal would also cause major disruption to terrestrial network planning and development,” Verizon wrote. The company added that this would “impose significant new costs to UMFUS licensees, harm existing services, strand substantial investments, and diminish the rights and capabilities bidders valued when participating in UMFUS auctions.”
Consumer groups Public Knowledge and New America’s Open Technology Institute sided with the satellite companies.
The groups said it was important to note “the distinction between terrestrial UMFUS deployments indoors (which are inherently shielded from weak satellite signals outdoors) and outdoors (which so far have been few)” and that light licensing would promote “more timely and cost-effective access to the UMFUS bands to meet the need to backhaul the exploding demand for next generation satellite services.”
At the FCC’s October 2025 meeting, where the item seeking comment on the issue was unanimously adopted, Chairman Brendan Carr said he was “confident the changes we propose in this item will help earth station and 5G terrestrial operators use these frequency bands more intensely while living side by side in their operations.”
The FCC is undertaking a number of proceedings aimed at fostering satellite connectivity, either by increasing access to spectrum or streamlining the licensing process.
The National Weather Association and other meteorologists said they were concerned about a light licensing model, as scientific measurements are collected by instruments adjacent to the 37 GHz and 50 GHz UMFUS bands. They said more ground stations could corrupt data collected from their equipment and potentially reduce the accuracy of weather forecasts.
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