CTIA Urges FCC to Finalize Upper C-Band Service Rules

CTIA President/CEO and former FCC Chair Ajit Pai says carriers want the agency to swiftly finish service rules for the upper C-band. “Hitting the accelerator on delivering the 800 MHz pipeline [that Congress envisioned] matters right now,” he writes in a blog post this week. “Doing so is critical to ensuring that AI innovation stays where it belongs: here in the United States.”

The pressure on timing, he notes, is real. AI traffic is already growing three times faster than traditional wireless data, according to Pai. “Without more spectrum, wireless could become a bottleneck to AI innovation.” He says meeting the new capacity demand “requires timely mid-band spectrum auctions.”

Pai gives credit to the FCC and FAA “for moving aggressively on upper C-Band to meet the congressional deadline of a 2027 auction.” Now, Pai says, “the key is finalizing service rules in the next 60 days.” 

Pai explains, “Prospective bidders and existing users need time and cost-certainty to prepare for auction participation and commercial access by 2030. This 160 MHz would be a vital down payment on America’s AI and connectivity future.”

As far as government-controlled spectrum, Pai recalls Congress identified three federal spectrum bands (2.7, 4 and 7 GHz) for future commercial availability. “To ensure we have the connectivity we need by 2030, we will need to see at least two of these bands auctioned in 2028.” He says CTIA is confident in NTIA’s ability to deliver on this timeline.  

“We have a narrow window for action,” Pai asserts, adding, “The global AI race will not be put on pause while the U.S. figures out the connectivity piece of our AI future.” He calls the AWS-3 auction “a good start.”

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief