Upper C-Band (3.98-4.2 GHz); Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band

What it does

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted a Report and Order, Order of Proposed Modification, and Order on Reconsideration (Order), that expands the ecosystem for next-generation wireless services in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (C-band) by making 160 megahertz of the 3.98-4.2 GHz band (Upper C- band) available for terrestrial wireless flexible use. This action is pursuant to Congress' direction in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to complete a system of competitive bidding by July 4, 2027, for at least 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.98-4.2 GHz band. The Order creates a single 3.7 GHz Service that spans 3.7-4.14 GHz and adopts competitive bidding procedures for an auction. The Order largely applies the current Lower C-band licensing and operating rules to the Upper C-band, but it imposes more forward-leaning performance requirements. The Commission also generally adopts the Lower C-band technical rules for the Upper C-band, with certain modifications designed to reinforce a successful coexistence environment with adjacent band radio altimeters. The Order requires new licensees in the Upper C-band, as a condition of their licenses, to reimburse defined incumbent Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) licensees for reasonable and necessary costs associated with migrating FSS operations out of the reconfigured portion of the Upper C-band, consistent with the Commission's Emerging Technologies precedent. The Order also provides incentives to eligible space station operators that meet their clearing obligations by specified transition deadlines. Finally, new Upper C-band licensees must provide rebates for defined classes of eligible aircraft owners and operators to facilitate compliance with the FAA's radio altimeter retrofit requirements, which are designed to promote successful coexistence between Upper C-band licensees and radio altimeters in the 4.2-4.4 GHz band.

The Federal Communications Commission's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

3 parts of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

47 CFR 1, 47 CFR 25, 47 CFR 27

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Federal Communications Commission has published 57 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 78 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

The rules are effective September 29, 2026, except for instruction 7 (Sec. Sec. 25.138(a) and (b)); instruction 8 (Sec. 25.147); instruction 17 Sec. (27.14(x)(3)); instruction 26 (Sec. 27.1412(b), (c), (e), and (g); instruction 28 (Sec. 27.1413(a)(3), (c)(1), (c)(9), (e) and (f)); instruction 30 (Sec. 27.1414(e)); instruction 31 (Sec. 27.1415); instruction 32 (Sec. 27.1416); instruction 33 (Sec. 27.1417); instruction 35 (Sec. 27.1419); instruction 37 (Sec. 27.1421); instruction 39 (Sec. 27.1422(c)); and instruction 41 Sec. 27.1424 of the Commission's rules, which contain new or modified information collection requirements that require review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act and will not become effective until the effective date for those information collections is announced in a document published in the Federal Register after the Commission receives OMB approval. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of these rule sections.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Title 47 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register