The FCC is moving forward with plans to conduct another massive midband spectrum auction for 5G in October. The event has taken on a much higher profile following the roughly $80 billion in winning bids that AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile made in the FCC's midband C-band spectrum auction in February.
However, operators are raising a number of pressing questions about the FCC's planned auction of 100MHz of spectrum between 3.45GHz and 3.55GHz. And the answers to those questions could ultimately determine whether the FCC's next auction is a snoozefest or a blockbuster.
Specifically, the FCC has not yet provided details about how 3.45GHz-3.55GHz auction winners might have to share their winnings with the US military. It's an important issue considering it could affect up to 20% of the US population, according to the CTIA trade association that represents some of the biggest wireless network operators in the country.