The NTIA has shared an update on its work to open new spectrum for 6G across four bands, with the most headway in the 7GHz band. The agency says it has also launched spectrum.gov to track progress on the 6G spectrum pipeline and related spectrum policy work.5G backup internet
The US policy push is tied to the December 2025 რWinning the 6G Race ს memorandum, which directs NTIA to study and reallocate spectrum for mobile use following a spectrum pipeline of up to 800MHz created by the One Big Beautiful Bill tax law.
Four-band studies and the Winning the 6G Race mandate
Under the December order, NTIA რs work includes immediate study of the lower 7GHz band (7125MHz რ7400MHz) and exploration of relocating federal users to other bands that could fall between 7.4GHz and 8.4GHz. The order also required immediate work on the 2.7GHz band (2700MHz რ2900MHz) and the 4.4GHz band (4400MHz რ4940MHz), while NTIA studies the 1.6GHz band (1675MHz რ1695MHz) in addition to the three memorandum bands.
This week, NTIA launched spectrum.gov to track progress on the 6G spectrum pipeline and other spectrum policy issues related to satellite communications and preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027 (WRC-27). A graphic on the site shows milestone progress for studies across the 7GHz, 4.4GHz, 2.7GHz and 1.6GHz bands, as of May 1, 2026.
CTIA remarks: 7GHz on track, December report planned
Arielle Roth, chief administrator at NTIA, said at the CTIA Summit that NTIA is well on its way to identifying spectrum in the 7GHz band, with technical work underway and delivery of a final report in December. Roth რs remarks also covered dependencies on next steps for other bands.
For the 2.7GHz band, relocation plans are awaiting Congress რs funding approval to use the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF). Roth said Congress has 54 days to decide, and NTIA is looking forward to the release of funding so it can identify the 2.7GHz band for auction as quickly as possible.
In the 2.7GHz band, NTIA said the two main federal users are NOAA and FAA. Roth added that NTIA coordinated early with the Department of Defense and other agencies to work out relocation costs, and it worked with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to jumpstart federal clearance for relocation.
4.4GHz and reallocation planning: agency plan reviews underway
On the 4GHz side of the roadmap, NTIA started reviewing nine plans from agencies and military departments expected to be affected. Roth said the 4GHz band is a major accomplishment but complicated, and she wants plans approved and studies completed so the band can ultimately be identified for reallocation.
What the spectrum pipeline implies for Mobile & Wireless spectrum planning
Omdia რs Gabriel Brown said there are questions about how good the coverage will be at higher frequencies. Brown also said Nokia has been relatively open in sharing data from upper 6GHz field tests in Europe and 7GHz field tests in Japan, and that coverage results look encouraging.
The work is happening alongside equipment testing by T-Mobile in the 7GHz band with Ericsson and Nokia. From a requirements perspective, 6G is described as supporting a maximum 400MHz channel bandwidth in the downlink, compared with typical 5G channels using 100MHz bandwidth; the რfatter ს 400MHz channels are not required but become important for advanced 6G services like integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). Brown said finding 400MHz of contiguous spectrum is a challenge everywhere, not just in the US.
On international positioning, the article says China has a better spectrum position for 6G because it has allocated the entire 6GHz band for cellular use, while the US assigned 6GHz for Wi-Fi and Europe has carved out upper 6GHz for cellular. It adds that the Chinese government approved 6GHz frequencies for 6G trials in China this week, according to local reports, and that the value of opening 6GHz to Wi-Fi should not be discounted, which makes the US-China comparison more nuanced. Brown also said the US 6G spectrum pipeline looks okay despite industry unhappiness, and that the outlook is decent enough for now.
FCC auction calendar sits under the 6G timeline
Separate from NTIA რs work, there will be an FCC auction for AWS-3 spectrum that starts in June. A second FCC auction is scheduled for the upper C-band and is due to be completed no later than July 2027.
Spectrum is expected to be a hot topic at the 6G Summit held at Network X Americas from May 18 to May 20 in Dallas.
Sources
- Source: Light Reading.