radio spectrum regulation

The US telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), voted to adopt the “Space Modernization for the 21st Century” Report and Order. This rulemaking revoked the FCC’s legacy satellite and earth station rules to create a new regime that will better align FCC rules with the nature of today’s commercial space economy. However, the rules maintain the FCC’s oversight of core regulatory concerns, such as spectrum management, harmful interference, national security, and orbital debris.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules to auction 160 MHz of Upper C-band spectrum (3.98–4.14 GHz). Together with the previously licensed Lower C-band (3.70–3.98 GHz), the measure creates a contiguous, harmonised 440 MHz block under a single licensing framework. The FCC will award 3,248 flexible-use licences on a Partial Economic Area (PEA) basis, each with a 15-year licence term. The FCC expects to complete the auction by July 2027, with commercial operations beginning between December 2030 and July 2031, depending on the market. The FCC will issue a separate proposal setting out the minimum opening bids, upfront payment requirements and bidding credit caps.

The FCC raised US$3.57bn from the re-auction of 200 AWS-3 spectrum licences, with Verizon accounting for nearly 90% of the proceeds and T-Mobile securing the largest number of licences. AT&T, SpaceX and three other bidders also acquired spectrum.

The Paraguayan regulator, Conatel, published the final rules to auction 200 MHz in the 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands. The regulator maintained the conditions proposed during the consultation. Personal and Tigo were selected to participate in the auction, having submitted valid bids.

Mexico's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) submitted to public consultation draft rules for an upcoming spectrum auction. This auction would grant 10-year concessions in the 2300–2400 MHz band specifically for private industrial “intelligent wireless communications”. The spectrum is intended to support industry 4.0 applications, which would enable the operation of smart factories interconnected through technologies like the internet of things (IoT). The consultation started on 17 June and concluded on 16 July 2026. The proposal refers to CRT accepting bids starting on 19 November 2026.

Conatel, the Venezuelan spectrum regulator, temporarily authorised direct-to-device emergency messaging following the La Guaira earthquakes, allowing compatible mobile phones to connect directly to Starlink satellites where terrestrial networks are unavailable.