Qualcomm Still Pushing for Sidelink Rulemaking
The company wants to make public safety gear with government spectrum that NTIA is eyeing for mobile use
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2026 – Qualcomm is still interested in accessing part of a spectrum band the government is studying for mobile use.
The chipmaker wants 5 megahertz of the 1675-1695 MegaHertz (MHz) band for a 5G “sidelink” service that would allow public safety devices to share data directly with each other in the event mobile coverage was poor or disrupted after a natural disaster.
That’s government spectrum the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is studying for potential mobile and/or direct-to-device use.
Qualcomm government affairs staff met with top advisors to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr last week to continue pressing their case. The company brought three current and former public safety officials.
“Sidelink can help address real-world communication challenges by enabling direct device-to-device communications, which will be particularly critical when conventional cellular or satellite coverage is limited or unavailable,” wrote Leslie Barnes, Qualcomm’s senior director of federal regulatory affairs.
The company wants the FCC to “quickly adopt” a proposal on the issue and continue developing a record.
The 1675-1695 MHz band is currently used by the National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration to collect weather data from its satellites and weather balloons. Multiple groups representing scientists were concerned Qualcomm’s proposal would interfere with those systems.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has already found that 1675-1680 MHz could be auctioned off to wireless carriers without disrupting the flow of data. The agency, tasked by Congress with finding large amounts of government spectrum for the private sector, is also studying the remaining 15 megahertz of the band for commercial use.
Satellite companies Ligado and AST Space Mobile have opposed Qualcomm’s plan for that reason. They’ve argued to the FCC that direct-to-device satellite service in the band would deliver “broader public interest benefits” than the sidelink idea.
NTIA hasn’t made a public filing with the FCC on the issue. Qualcomm said in the July 23 meeting that it had briefed the agency on its plan, as well as the Defense Department, which it described as "interested in" the idea.
Support for Qualcomm
Organizations representing police and fire departments have been supportive of Qualcomm’s plan.
Top executives from the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) met with Apran Sura, one of Carr’s top advisors, earlier this month supporting the plan.
AT&T and T-Mobile, two of the three largest intended buyers in future spectrum auctions, have also supported a rulemaking on the issue. So did the Wireless Infrastructure Association, which represents towers, carriers, equipment providers, and others.
T-Mobile said fielding more comments would better inform an eventual auction in the 1.6 Ghz band NTIA is studying. The carrier said it would still be happy to see the spectrum put to use for commercial purposes on a secondary basis, meaning public safety users would get priority.
“Qualcomm’s proposal would be consistent with NTIA’s efforts and, if the spectrum dedicated to sidelink is also made available for commercial services, would support the goals of [Congress],” the company wrote.
AT&T was more reserved though, saying the agency should take comment on “whether sidelink requires its own dedicated spectrum allocation, whether 45 megahertz of mid-band spectrum is necessary, and whether other spectrum may be better suited to sidelink’s needs.”
In addition to the 1.6 GHz spectrum, Qualcomm’s plan would call for a 40 megahertz allocation in the 5350-5470 MHz band. That’s also federal spectrum.
Michael Calabrese, head of the Wireless Future program at New America, told staff from multiple FCC offices and bureaus and offices last month that the group supported a rulemaking on the 5.4 GHz spectrum band, but not one that considered only Qualcomm’s proposal.
“If NTIA is willing to consider sharing the band with one or more commercial services, the Commission should seek comment on a range of potential new uses and not just a single technology or narrow class of users, as Qualcomm proposes,” he wrote. “Such an inquiry could be very productive whether or not Qualcomm’s specific Sidelink technology is a direct beneficiary.”
NCTA, which represents the cable industry, agreed, urging a broad inquiry into potential uses.
