FCC to Consider New Spectrum Auction, Slate of Other Wireless Initiatives
At its Oct. 29 meeting, the FCC will also consider blocking China-based labs from its equipment certification program
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote this month on multiple proposals that would open up more spectrum for direct-to-device satellite service.
One would seek comment on an auction of 25 megahertz of spectrum from 1675-1695 and 2020-2025 MHz. Companies would be able to use those airwaves for terrestrial 5G, direct-to-device service, or both, the agency said in a release.
A senior FCC official said on a call with reporters that there wasn’t a definitive timeline for the auction. The agency is planning its 160 megahertz upper C-band auction in April 2027.
The agency is also hoping to hold auctions in the lower 7 GHz and 2.7 GHz bands before the end of the Trump administration.
The 1675 MHz spectrum that will be contemplated at the FCC’s Oct. 29 meeting is currently used by the government for transmitting meteorological data.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is studying the band for repurposing, and has officially tapped 5 megahertz for an FCC auction. The agency has said it wants to identify the full 20 megahertz, but hasn’t published findings on whether the entire band could be opened to commercial use.
The FCC official said Wednesday that the agency expected an NTIA report on the rest of the band in the next couple of months. The official added the proposal went through the normal interagency review process before the FCC put it on its Oct. 29 agenda.
As for the 2020-2025 MHz band contemplated in the item, SpaceX had asked to use it for a next-generation direct-to-device constellation. In a Tuesday order clearing the launch of that constellation, the FCC deferred on the request.
Supplemental coverage from space
The agency will also vote on a proposal to update its supplemental coverage from space (SCS) rules.
Instituted in 2023, the SCS framework allows satellite companies to lease spectrum owned by wireless carriers to offer direct-to-device service in rural areas.
The proposal would seek comment on making an additional 482 megahertz eligible for lease under the framework, the FCC said in a release, and update the rules to make it easier to strike those deals.
“It's become clear in recent years that the rules need a major refresh,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote in a blog post. “So, this month, we will consider a plan to make more spectrum available for leasing, while cutting down regulatory barriers to deal flow and secondary-market transactions.”
The FCC official told reporters that a range of low- and mid-band spectrum would be covered by the item, owned by both carriers and other previous auction bidders, but didn't specify which bands.
Drone spectrum
The agency is also going to vote on an order that would open 50 megahertz of spectrum in the 800 MHz band for drone operations.
Carr said in his blog post that the order updates a rule that had unintentionally prevented drones from using the band. The FCC official said the spectrum at issue was roughly split between AT&T and Verizon nationally, but didn’t specify the frequencies.
Bad labs
The FCC will vote on another order that would block labs in “non-reciprocal” countries from handling FCC equipment certifications.
That ban would take effect in December 2028, another senior FCC official said.
The agency clears new models of electronics for import into the U.S., and according to Carr’s blog more than 80 percent of those authorizations are based on lab tests done in China.
The U.S. recognizes labs based in China, but China doesn’t recognize U.S. labs, Carr said in his blog. He blamed that arrangement for the concentration of labs overseas.
The FCC first proposed blocking labs from non-reprocal countries earlier this year. American tech companies told the agency it would be a bad idea to reduce testing capacity so severely.
Under Carr, the FCC has been de-certifying labs the agency says are too closely affiliated with the Chinese government.
An FCC official said Wednesday the agency had received some interest from countries about signing new reciprocal testing agreements, without specifically naming China.
The official said the agency was eager to work on such an agreement, which would prevent a given country’s labs from being blocked by the FCC’s testing program.
"In many ways this is an extension of the Bad Labs proceeding and a tacit acknowledgment that there probably are approved labs that pose a risk notwithstanding ongoing investigations," Peter Hyun, former acting chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, told Broadband Breakfast.
Other items
Also on the October agenda are an order to “strengthen our governance” of cross-border telecom facilities, an item seeking comment on increasing vetting for High Cost program participants, and a proposal seeking comment on updating the FCC’s accessibility rules.
The FCC is required to contemplate the extra High Cost vetting under a bill from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., which President Donald Trump signed into law in May.
The public drafts of the items will be posted Thursday afternoon, an FCC official said Wednesday.
Update: This story was updated to include additional commentary.
