Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said FCC plans to put the 280 megahertz of the C-band spectrum up for public auction to support 5G connectivity.
In a letter sent Monday to a Senate committee, Pai wrote that the public auction “will afford all parties a fair opportunity to compete for this 5G spectrum, while preserving the availability of the upper 200 megahertz of this band for the continued delivery of programming.â€
He discussed the four principles FCC should pursue through an ongoing rulemaking related to the C-band spectrum. These include making the spectrum available for 5G networks quickly and generating revenue for the federal government.
The C-band spectrum provides wireless clients and entrepreneurs capacity to transmit large data volumes and geographic coverage. Pai’s letter was addressed to Sen. Roger Ricker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.