Pai: C-Band Item Will Be on February Meeting Agenda

FCC chair Ajit Pai said he will be circulating a C-Band item next week for a vote at the February meeting.

The FCC is proposing to auction 280 MHz out of the 500 MHz total in a band currently used for, among other things, satellite delivery of programming networks to broadcasters and cable operators, and for some remote-to-studio transmissions.

The item is the latest in a series of FCC efforts to free up spectrum for next-gen wireless.

Related: CBA Says C-Band's 280 MHz Could Be Worth $77 Billion

That news came in a press conference following its Jan. 30 public meeting. He would not comment on reports the FCC would offer satellite operators a "single-digit" billion incentive payment for clearing off the spectrum ASAP.

Related: CBA Proposes Mandatory C-Band Clearing Fee

The C-Band Alliance has signaled it wants a share of the auction revenues, and was less than happy with a new bill this week that would also include such an incentive payment, but capped at $1 billion. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.