WASHINGTON—The future of C-band spectrum will begin to be laid on Thursday, Feb. 6, as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is set to announce his plans for the expected C-band auction that aims to create space for the development of 5G.
Pai is scheduled to give a speech on Feb. 6 at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation that will announce his plans for moving C-band spectrum forward. Feb. 6 will be the same day that he shares these plans with the FCC commissioners for their review, according to TVT’s sister publication Multichannel News.
It is widely expected that Pai’s plans consist of a public auction of 280 MHz of the 500 MHz that make up the C-band for future 5G use, as well as 20 MHz for a guard band. However, it is still uncertain how much of the auction proceeds will go to satellite operators that will need to move to smaller spectrum, as well as the cable and broadcast operators that would be impacted by those moves.
Pai’s speech will take place starting at noon ET on Feb. 6. It will be available to livestream.
