The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unanimously approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on creation of an auction of 5G-capable spectrum.
The proceeds from an eventual auction will support the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. This program, commonly referred to as “Rip and Replace,” aims to reimburse providers with 10 million or fewer subscribers for the expense associated with removing, replacing and discarding equipment from Huawei and ZTE. Those vendors had been found to be security threats.
The first step for the FCC is a re-auction of AWS-3 spectrum licenses that had been awarded in auction 97 in 2014. The FCC press release says that about 200 winners of spectrum — which is 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz — defaulted. Those licenses now are in the FCC’s inventory.
The National Defense Authorization Act that became law on December 23, 2024 allows the FCC to borrow up to $3.08 billion from the Treasury Department to fully fund the Rip and Replace program. The law also requires the FCC to auction the AWS-3 spectrum in its inventory and use the proceeds to repay the loan.
The auction must be initiated by June 23, 2026. The press release says that the NPRM is the first step of proposed rules for a wireless spectrum auction since 2020.
“It is time for the FCC to get back to auctioning spectrum,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in a separate statement Thursday morning.
“It is time that we free up airwaves for 5G and other next-gen services. Of course, conducting auctions at the FCC has been a bit of a challenge in recent years because the FCC’s general spectrum auction authority lapsed back in 2023.
“But late last year, Congress came together and on a bipartisan basis authorized the FCC to auction our inventory of AWS-3 spectrum. This was a good step forward, and I want to commend Chairwoman Rosenworcel and her leadership team for moving quickly to prepare a document that allows the FCC to conduct this auction.”
The underfunded rip and replace program has been the target of criticism. The most verbal organization is SI Wireless, a provider in Tennessee and Kentucky. Earlier this month, the company suggested that costs associated with compliance could close its doors.
