New Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is kicking off his tenure with a focus on spectrum, robocalls and emergency alerts.
In a blog post published Wednesday, Carr said that the FCC “will be laser focused on accelerating efforts that can get more spectrum into the marketplace.”
That includes moving forward with a re-auction of the FCC’s existing inventory of AWS-3 licenses—a move that the FCC is required to complete by June 23, 2026, under the National Defense Authorization Act that was passed by Congress last year. That re-auction will help further fund the “rip and replace” program targeting the removal of banned Chinese gear from telecom networks. Former Chair Jessica Rosenworcel had proposed similar plans in January before she resigned, as part of the transition to the incoming Trump administration.
Carr said that there are a “large number” of those licenses, which are in the 1.695-1.710 GHz, 1.755-1.780 GHz and 2.155-2.180 GHz bands.
“This auction will be a win-win,” he wrote in the posted blog. “It brings new spectrum into play for commercial use. And the proceeds from this auction will also cover the costs of the national security initiative known as ‘rip and replace’—an effort that is removing untrustworthy technology, like Huawei and ZTE gear, from networks.”
Carr also said that the FCC will vote on a notice of inquiry on opening up additional C-Band spectrum, in the upper C-Band range between 3.98-4.2 GHz, for “more intensive use,” and is looking for input on doing so. Satellite services were transitioned out of the rest of the C-Band into the upper 200 megahertz in order to allow the rest of the band to be auctioned for terrestrial mobile network use.
CTIA, which has been pushing hard for more exclusive and full-power access to midband spectrum, immediately applauded that proposal for the upper C-Band range, releasing a statement from outgoing President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker that said in part: “America faces a pressing need for more licensed spectrum to meet skyrocketing consumer demand. Making Upper C-band available for 5G services is crucial to strengthening America’s wireless networks, driving innovation, creating jobs, and securing our economic competitiveness. We look forward to working with the Chairman, the FCC, and other stakeholders on putting this spectrum to use in a manner that promotes aviation safety and achieves our shared goal of ensuring the U.S. leads the world in wireless.”
Additionally, Carr said that the FCC will vote this month on additional rules to expand the reach of Do-Not-Originate lists and strengthen call-blocking capabilities, give emergency managers more flexibility on mobile emergency alerts, and a notice of proposed rulemaking focused on whether the agency can take more action to combat exceedingly loud television commercials.
A bill was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would renew the FCC’s auction authority, which lapsed in early 2023 (the AWS-3 licenses would be re-auctioned under authority provided through the defense spending legislation). According to a press release from Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA-12), who introduced the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2025—which reflects a Senate version introduced by Senators John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas)—the proposed bill requires NTIA to identify at least 2,500 megahertz of midband spectrum for reallocation or sharing in the next five years, with half required in the next two years, and also requires the FCC to auction at least 1,250 megahertz for full-power commercial wireless services within six years, among other stipulations.
