FCC Approves Framework For Upper C-Band Spectrum Transition
SES, Eutelsat And Telesat To Split $6.3 Billion In Incentive Payments
The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to approve a framework reallocating 160 megahertz (MHz) of Upper C-band spectrum for wireless use in the contiguous United States.
“(The order represents) an important milestone for the U.S. satellite and telecommunications industries.”
Jean-François Fallacher, Eutelsat
The order, adopted under GN Docket Nos. 25-59 and 18-122, combines the newly cleared spectrum in 3.98–4.14 GHz, plus a 20 MHz guard band, with previously auctioned Lower C-band frequencies to form a contiguous 440 MHz band for next-generation wireless services. It fulfills a directive in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act requiring the commission to auction at least 100 MHz of the band by July 4, 2027.
Three satellite operators will split $6.3 billion in incentive payments for clearing the spectrum: SES, $5.607 billion; Eutelsat, $504 million; and Telesat, $189 million, according to the commission’s order. The payments are split between a primary deadline, worth $4.914 billion combined, and a final deadline worth $1.386 billion. Operators that miss the primary deadline face a sliding scale of reductions, forfeiting the full payment if they fall more than 180 days behind schedule.
The commission separately estimated that the operators’ transition costs will run between $4 billion and $5 billion, which new Upper C-band licensees will be required to reimburse.
Commissioner Anna Gomez approved the order in part and dissented in part. She said the commission could have paired the auction with a Tribal Licensing Window, a mechanism sought by the Navajo Nation, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and several other tribal governments and organizations, calling it consistent with the FCC’s trust responsibility to tribal nations. Chairman Brendan Carr agreed to seek further comment on a tribal window in the docket, but the order does not include one.
Jean-François Fallacher, chief executive officer of Eutelsat, said the order represents “an important milestone for the U.S. satellite and telecommunications industries.”
Adel Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of SES, said the incentive payments “appropriately recognize the critical role SES will play” in the transition.
Eligible operators must file initial transition plans with the FCC by Nov. 5. A clearinghouse selection committee must convene within 60 days of the order’s publication in the Federal Register and identify a candidate by Dec. 15.