The Federal Communications Commission will vote on holding another auction next summer for 3,248 licenses covering 160 megahertz of spectrum, in response to what the agency described as surging demand for spectrum for wireless services.

The FCC will vote on whether to hold the auction at a meeting on July 22, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said Tuesday. The agency recently raised more than $3.5 billion from an earlier spectrum auction, its first after a four-year hiatus.

President Trump's tax-and-spending bill restored the FCC's authority over spectrum auctions and required the agency to auction at least 100 megahertz of spectrum by July 2027, Carr said. He said the proposed auction would take place earlier and cover a bigger swath of spectrum than required by Congress.

The FCC also is tracking some spectrum auctions for 2028, Carr said.

The proposed auction will cover spectrum in the Upper C-Band between 3.98 and 4.14 gigahertz, the frequencies that power some 5G wireless services. The FCC said it would unite wireless operations in one "super-band" spanning frequencies between 3.70 to 4.14 gigahertz.

The FCC coordinated with the Federal Aviation Authority to ensure safeguards to protect the frequencies used by aircraft radio altimeters, the FAA said, including limits on the height of 5G transmission towers and a "buffer band" between aircraft radio frequencies and the spectrum frequencies on auction.

"Freeing up this spectrum will further drive down prices for consumers, increases competition and mean faster wireless speeds," Carr said. "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, America will once again lead the world in wireless. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made certain that we will put this prime, mid-band spectrum to its best use through another major FCC auction."

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2026 14:00 ET (18:00 GMT)

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