“One Big Beautiful Bill”, President Trump’s Budget Law, Also Addresses 5G and 6G Spectrum!
Among its many provisions, this law touches on a subject rarely addressed in budget bills: spectrum. A full chapter is devoted to extending until 2034 the authority of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the U.S. communications regulator, to auction off certain frequency bands. That authority had lapsed on March 9, 2023. In addition, the law narrows the frequency range concerned for reallocation of “federal” spectrum (between 1.3 and 10.5 GHz), sets a quantitative target for spectrum to be allocated within “federal” and “non-federal” spectrum,and specifies which sub-bands should be studied and which must be excluded.
The total amount of spectrum to be made available before 2034 will be at least 800 MHz—implicitly aimed at supporting the expansion of mobile communications (5G and future 6G). Two stages are outlined:
- 300 MHz already allocated to “non-federal” use (i.e., managed by the FCC) must be made available, with at least 100 MHz auctioned within two years, and the remainder assigned before 2034;
- 500 MHz will be reallocated from “federal” (i.e., government) use to the FCC: 200 MHz to be transferred within two years for an auction to take place within four years, and 300 MHz to be transferred within four years for assignment to take place within eight years.
The first portion of “non-federal” spectrum (at least 100 MHz) must come from the 3.98–4.2 GHz band. The FCC had already considered this band as part of the reorganization that relocated small satellite earth stations out of the 3.7–3.98 GHz band before the record-breaking 2021 auctions, which raised over USD80 billion. Of that sum, USD10 billion was used to compensate satellite operators impacted by the migration, mainly Intelsat and SES, but also Eutelsat and Telesat. The exact amount of spectrum that can be auctioned between 3.98 and 4.2 GHz for mobile services (5G or 6G) will depend on the extent to which additional relocation of earth stations is feasible, as well as the outcome of requests from satellite operators such as Starlink for new services (such as direct-to-device connectivity). And, of course, protection of radio altimeters operating in the adjacent 4.2–4.4 GHz band must also be considered.
Interestingly, the version of the OBBB initially submitted to Congress excluded the 6 GHz band (5925–7125 MHz). However, it was reintroduced during the debates! This reopens the possibility of auctioning part of this band for mobile networks, even though the FCC had previously allocated it entirely to RLAN/WiFi use.
Several bands currently used for government services will also be studied for potential reallocation to the FCC for auction:
- 2.7–2.9 GHz
- 4.4–4.9 GHz
- 7.25–7.4 GHz
Unsurprisingly, the 3.1–3.45 GHz band does not appear on the list: heavily used by military radars in the U.S. and Europe, including in international waters, it is explicitly excluded from reallocation under the OBBB. This aligns with prior studies estimating that reassigning the band could cost the U.S. Treasury over USD250 billion—not counting the operational disruptions it would cause.
Yet, other choices seem surprising in many respects.
The 2.7–2.9 GHz band, used by radars including civil aviation systems, had already been studied in the 2000s: the ITU concluded that sharing with mobile networks was not feasible.
As for the 4.4–4.9 GHz band, it is currently used by terrestrial, aeronautical, and naval defense systems. This direction runs counter to the position the U.S. delegation defended at WRC-23, where it opposed identifying the 4.8–4.99 GHz band for IMT (the ITU term for 5G/6G), as well as studying the 4.4–4.8 GHz band for IMT under Agenda Item 1.7 of WRC-27. Indeed, that agenda item, now under review for the next WRC, excludes Region 2 (and therefore the U.S.) from any IMT identification in this band.
The OBBB also excludes the 7.4–8.4 GHz band. Yet, this band had attracted strong interest from the mobile industry and the FCC, and a U.S. report was expected by late 2026 on possible sharing within the 7.125–8.4 GHz range—meant to shape the U.S. position on IMT identification at WRC-27 under Agenda Item 1.7.
However, the law does open the lower part of the band for possible mobile use. For reference, in France and Europe, only the 7.125–7.250 MHz band is considered potentially viable for IMT identification, given opportunities for sharing between current uses and 5G/6G.
Looking ahead to spectrum identification for 6G, the OBBB will likely have a direct impact on negotiation dynamics under WRC-27 Agenda Item 1.7 on new IMT allocations. Early shifts in WRC debates may emerge this coming fall during the next ITU meeting cycle.