Trump Administration Reforms Spectrum Relocation Process to Speed Up Auction Timelines
WASHINGTON—Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) applauded the release of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum-26-19, which will drastically improve the process for repurposing federal spectrum for 6G—a key initiative for NTIA as it conducts an unprecedented number of band studies to reallocate federal spectrum for commercial use.
OMB Memo-26-19 rescinds Obama Administration-era guidance that prevented NTIA and the FCC to run in parallel the work needed to study, identify, and ready for auction federal spectrum. The Trump Administration Memo eliminates this unnecessary and burdensome delay, setting the groundwork for multiple 6G auctions in 2028 and beyond.
Specifically, the OMB Memo recognizes that agencies can maintain the funding they need to support necessary R&D studies and procurements while the FCC launches its auction preparation. Previously, under Obama-era interpretation, such action by the FCC halted agency funding, even if studies were still underway toward NTIA’s identification of spectrum for auction, creating the Spectrum Relocation Fund Gap. This week's action by OMB closes the gap.
“As NTIA proceeds with four simultaneous repurposing band studies, we have been sounding the alarm on the ‘SRF gap’ that could slow our progress with needless delays,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. “Now the Trump Administration is taking a decisive step to secure 6G leadership by significantly closing that gap and allowing band studies and FCC auction preparations to proceed simultaneously. This will enable the FCC to hold multiple 6G spectrum auctions under this Administration—a win for American technology leadership.”
Last year, Congress gave NTIA and the FCC a first-of-its-kind mandate: identify 800 MHz of spectrum for commercial mobile wireless services in five years, including 500 megahertz of federal spectrum in the 1.3-10.5 GHz range. The Administration is studying four federal bands: the 1.6 GHz band, the 2.7 GHz band, the 4.4 GHz band and the 7 GHz band.
NTIA is coordinating with the FCC to ensure that as many as five spectrum actions are held by the end of 2028.