The US will hold its next auction of mid-band spectrum in July amid calls to pursue the development of the sixth generation of mobile communications standard, or 6G, the chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission said.
Making the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Jessica Rosenworcel said the auction, which will cover an estimated block of 200MHz of spectrum, will allow US telecoms operators to deploy 5G services to more users.
“I am excited to announce that the US will hold another mid-band spectrum auction. This July we'll kick off our auction of the 2.5GHz band. This is the single largest swathe of continuous mid-band spectrum we have below 3GHz,” she said.
“The airwaves available from this auction are going to help extend 5G services beyond our most populous cities.”
The technical characteristics of the 2.5GHz band make the spectrum highly suitable for next-generation mobile broadband services including 5G, the Internet Innovation Alliance said.
However, much of the 2.5GHz band remains unused throughout the US. The FCC auctions off small portions of the electromagnetic spectrum to the highest bidder so that network operators such as Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T can leverage it for commercial use.
This market-based approach to spectrum management is an example of the privatisation of public resources, IT management firm Lightyear said.
This strategy allows governments to allocate and profit from scarce and finite spectrum while winning bidders put their acquired resources to the “highest-value” use.
The FCC started competitive auctions of radio spectrums in 1994 and has conducted more than 100 auctions that have raised tens of trillions of dollars for the Treasury Department, Lightyear added.
Plans for the 2.5GHz sale — known as Auction 108 — have been in the works for over a year and the FCC sought its first public comment in January 2021.
T-Mobile, America's second-largest telecoms operator that already operates on a big part of 2.5GHz, is expected to make a major bid.
Ms Rosenworcel also encouraged stakeholders to boost their 6G development plans. While the technology won't be available anytime soon — it is expected by the end of the decade — she said that industry players who are prepared will have a major advantage.
“These are early days, but if we've learnt anything from our experience rolling out 5G, it's that wireless service matters for economic and national security,” she said.
Security and safety will need to be addressed: in January, major international airlines were caught off guard by safety concerns triggered by a major C-band 5G wireless rollout in the US, which sent them scrambling to alter flight plans or cancel them.
The FCC's next move would be finding ways to commercialise the spectrum and make airwaves in the 3.1GHz to 3.45GHz bands available for auction, Ms Rosenworcel said.
Identifying the much higher 7GHz to 15GHz bands is also on the cards.
