FCC confirms C-band auction
July 1, 2026

By Chris Forrester



The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as expected, has published its auction plan for the satellite ‘Upper C-band’ release of 160 MHz of spectrum to be used by terrestrial operators for 5G and 6G services. (The Upper C-band is 3.98-4.14 GHz).

FCC chairman Brendan Carr announced that “the FCC will vote July 22nd to auction a large swath of prime, mid-band spectrum next summer—putting America back ahead on 5G, 6G, and next-gen connectivity. The FCC moved with record speed and in close coordination with other agencies, including the FAA. The plan allows providers to light up this spectrum faster than many expected. It means even faster speeds for consumers, downward pressure on prices, and billions for the Treasury.”


The auction will take place no later than July 2027. the FCC’s plan ensures that the Upper C-Band can be lit up for most Americans before the end of 2030—faster than originally expected. The Upper C-Band auction will also unify a “big and contiguous swath” of 440 megahertz of spectrum when combined with the Lower C-Band, says the FCC.

The draft Order circulated today (July 1st) would make available 160 megahertz of valuable Upper C-Band spectrum through the auction of 3,248 new flexible-use spectrum licences throughout the contiguous US.

SES is on record as saying that its costs (including those for its Intelsat subsidiary) for building new satellites and associated services will cost some $3.6 billion. Eutelsat anticipates costs of some $750 million for its satellite services over North America.

Both SES and Eutelsat will be compensated via an FCC-endorsed Incentive scheme. SES has already started the procurement process for five replacement satellites (plus two for ‘back up’) carrying the new frequencies essential for maintain signals to cable head-ends.

Professor Tim Farrar (of TMF Associates) quoted the FCC statement which said: “Total incentives to satellite operators will be less in aggregate than those paid after the Lower C-Band auction, but roughly commensurate given the lower amount of spectrum being cleared.”

Farrar estimated that something like $5 billion to SES/Intelsat and $5 billion to $6 billion in Incentives in total.

Intelsat’s former shareholders are set to receive 42.5 per cent of the “incentive payment” for the first 100 MHz which could be worth at least $1.3 billion, while SES will receive the remaining 57.5 per cent Incentive for the first 100 MHz as well as 100 per cent of the remaining 60 MHz. Farrar suggests this should be $4 billion “or more”.

The switch represents a massive amount of work for the satellite operators, but the end-benefits could be considerable. SES, for example, will end up with an FCC-funded suite of new satellites, and cash from the Incentive payments to repay debts and also reward its long-suffering shareholders.