While the Federal Communications Commission still does not have renewed spectrum auction authority, which Congress allowed to expire, it has passed a law that will allow the regulator “one-time, temporary” authority to license the 2.5-GHz 5G spectrum it auctioned last year.
That midband spectrum auction, which ended in August 2022, drew $427,789,670 in gross bids for for 7,872 licenses. The band had been reserved for educational (EBS) licenses, but the FCC in 2019 converted it to flexible use, including for 5G.
