NTIA Clears Remaining 4.4 GigaHertz Study Plans
Rysavy Research argued the 4.4 GHz band was a good choice for 6G technology.
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2026 – The Commerce Department has cleared a final package of federal agency plans to study the 4.4 GigaHertz (GHz) band for potential repurposing.
Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration previously approved 12 agency study plans last month, but NTIA officials have said a total of 15 use the airwaves.
“With today’s announcement on 4.4 GHz, every one of our four pipeline bands is now advancing simultaneously — a historic first that demonstrates we are operating with the speed and precision needed to fulfill our mandate,” NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said in a statement.
The agency is looking into four federal bands in an effort to find more spectrum for commercial use: 1.6 GHz, 2.7 GHz, 7 GHz, and 4.4 GHz. Study plans have now been cleared by NTIA for each of them.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, NTIA has to tap 200 megahertz for auction by July 2027, and another 300 by July 2029.
After Friday’s approval of the agency plans, Congress and the White House have a 60-day window to review them. Once that passes, funding will be released to the agencies to carry out their studies, which include looking at how spectrum could be shared or how systems could be moved to other bands.
CTIA, the mobile industru group, was pleased to see spectrum studies moving forward.
“The 4 GHz band is critical to meeting surging demand and freeing up the large, contiguous blocks of spectrum needed to secure America's 6G and AI leadership,” Umair Javed, CTIA's general counsel, said in a statement. “We commend NTIA for taking this important step, and we look forward to working closely with them to put this spectrum to work for the American people as quickly as possible.”
Mobile industry excited
The mobile industry is particularly excited about the prospect of acquiring 4 GHz spectrum. It’s a large 500-megahertz swathe under study, and NTIA has indicated 400 megahertz could be tapped for auction.
“The 4 GHz band may be the biggest opportunity of them all,” CTIA CEO Ajit Pai explained in a blog post last month. “The band is globally aligned with 5G and emerging 6G standards and already has an active ecosystem of equipment and devices.”
Two of the biggest government users of 4.4 GHz spectrum are the Defense Department and Justice Department, NTIA has said.
NTIA has already identified 5 megahertz of the 1.6 GHz band for auction. The spectrum is used to transmit meteorological data to ground stations, which the agency found could be opened up for mobile use as long as a small number of those ground stations were protected.
The agency is on track to finish studying the 7 GHz band this year; the process is further along since the agency has been looking at the band longer. The White House has said it wants the airwaves tapped for 6G use.
The FCC is planning an auction in the fourth band, 2.7 GHz, for 2028.
An agenda item at the World Radiocommunication Conference next year will consider allocating 4 GHz for mobile use globally.
In filings posted Thursday, NTIA submitted more proposed positions on multiple WRC items to the Federal Communications Commission. Those didn’t include the 4 GHz issue.
A draft proposal from one of the FCC’s working groups is set for discussion at the agency’s WRC Advisory Committee’s Aug. 4 meeting. That would set 300 megahertz of the band for mobile use globally.
Mobile use in the 7 GHz band is also up for consideration at WRC-27, but there’s disagreement among U.S. interests on what the delegation should advocate for.
The cable industry and unlicensed interests want to hold off on identifying the band for licensed mobile use, while the carriers want it tapped early for mobile use.
Rysavy report
In a Thursday report, Rysavy Research argued the 4.4 GHz band was the best choice of the government bands under study.
The band is near C-band spectrum already in use by the carriers, and has better indoor penetration than 7 Ghz, the report said. The band is also larger and could be deployed on existing networks, compared to the extra densification that would be required to get the most out of 7 GHz.
“Although the 7 GHz band will become important in the longer term, the 4 GHz band is the practical, lower-risk, nearer-term band for wide-area licensed mobile broadband capacity,” wrote Peter Wysavy, head of the consulting firm and former executive director of the Wireless Technology Association.
Update: This story was updated to add comment from CTIA
