Where to Find 800 Megahertz of Spectrum For Auction?
Citizens Broadband Radio Service hasn’t got an explicit defense from the Trump administration, but the FCC hasn’t said it intends to alter it.
Editor's Note: Published on Dec. 10, 2025; republished on Jan. 2, 2026.
The Federal Communications Commission’s ability to auction spectrum expired for the first time since the nineties in March 2023. More than two years later, In July 2025, Congress reinstated that authority and tasked the agency with selling off 800 megahertz by September 2034.
12 Days of Broadband 2025 (click to open)
- On the First Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: One Carr driving the Federal Communications Commission.
- On the Second Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Two superpowers racing toward AI superintelligence dominance.
- On the Third Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Three branches of government (and some formerly independent agencies).
- On the Fourth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Four programs with Universal Service Funds.
- On the Fifth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 56 states and territories without digital equity grants.
- On the Sixth Day of Broadband, my true level sent to me: Less than 6 months for a broadband permit.
- On the Seventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Data center-powered electricity bills up 70 percent.
- On the Eighth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 800 megahertz of spectrum to sell at auction.
- On the Ninth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: $9 billion + 12 billion (or $21 billion) in BEAD remaining funds.
- On the Tenth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Not even $10/month for an affordable connectivity program.
- On the Eleventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Through BEAD and broadband, 110 million locations served.
- On the Twelfth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: More than 1200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless.
Of that, 500 megahertz will have to be federal spectrum identified for reallocation by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages federal spectrum use. The agency has to find at least 200 megahertz of that by July 2027, and the rest by July 2029.
The remaining 300 megahertz can come from anywhere, although if NTIA finds more federal spectrum than is required it could count toward the total. The FCC has to finish an auction of at least 100 megahertz in the upper C-band by July 2027, which FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said will be a heavy lift.
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