NTIA Officially Taps 5 Megahertz of NOAA Spectrum for Wireless Use.
The agency is also studying the band for direct-to-device satellite service.
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2026 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has officially tapped five megahertz of federal spectrum for commercial use.
NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth first signalled the agency’s intent to have the band auctioned in September. In a Feb. 26 letter posted Tuesday, the agency submitted a formal notification to the Federal Communications Commission that it had identified the 1675-1680 MHz band for use by mobile carriers.
“This letter serves as our formal notification of its commercial identification,” Roth wrote. “Our findings support the feasibility of sharing the band with typical commercial wireless deployments.”
The agency added that it would continue studying the band for direct-to-device satellite services, which “also increasingly need more spectrum.”
The band is currently used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to broadcast meteorological data from its satellites and weather balloons. NTIA said four ground stations would need their operations protected, meaning carriers would have to coordinate with NTIA and NOAA before deploying within a certain distance of them.
The remaining ground stations – 28, according to a December 2024 NTIA report – would transition to receiving data from the protected ground stations, rather than directly from satellites.
“NTIA anticipates that transition plans will be developed and would notify the [FCC] at least six months prior to auction of any incumbent costs for such relocation or sharing as well as the associated timelines,” Roth wrote.
In July, Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act directed NTIA to find 500 megahertz of federal spectrum to be auctioned for commercial use, part of a larger 800 megahertz spectrum pipeline.
In addition to the five megahertz already identified, Roth said the NTIA was working with other agencies on studying adjacent 15 megahertz at 1680-1695 MHz for mobile and direct-to-device use.
“NTIA very much hopes the study will allow us to formally identify this additional 15 megahertz within the OBBBA’s statutory timeframe,” Roth wrote.
The agency is also studying 7.125-7.4 GHz, 1680-1695 MHz, 2.7-2.9 GHz, and 4.4-4.94 GHz.
NTIA and the wireless industry are excited about 4.4 GHz, but it has more than a dozen current federal users. The White House said in a December memo it wanted the lower 7 GHz band under study to ultimately be made available to the wireless carriers.
.jpg){kind=link}
Member discussion