FCC Proposes 482 MHz More for Satellite-to-Phone Service as Carriers Fight 2 Bands

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously on October 29 to propose opening an extra 482 MHz of mobile spectrum to satellites that connect directly to ordinary phones, raising the number of eligible bands from five to 13. The proposal would also scrap the rule that forces a satellite operator to lease airwaves from every carrier across an entire region before it can offer service.

Nothing changes for phone users yet. The vote starts a rulemaking, not a final rule, and the fight over which bands survive has already begun: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile want 290 MHz of the 482 MHz removed, while SpaceX has spent this year buying its own spectrum so it can launch a full mobile service called Starlink Mobile.

Key facts at a glance

• 482 MHz of additional spectrum proposed for satellite-to-phone service, known in FCC rules as Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS).
• 5 to 13: the number of bands that would be eligible for SCS under the proposal.
• 290 MHz: the share in the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands that the three national carriers asked the FCC to drop.
• 25 MHz at 1675-1695 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz proposed for a separate auction open to terrestrial 5G, satellite-to-phone or hybrid networks.
• 60 days: the comment window in the draft, counted from publication in the Federal Register.

How satellite-to-phone service is regulated today

Direct-to-device (D2D) service lets an unmodified smartphone talk to a satellite when no cell tower is in range. In 2024 the FCC created the SCS framework, which let satellite companies borrow mobile spectrum that belongs to terrestrial carriers. It was the first rule of its kind, but it came with tight conditions.

Under the 2024 rules, a satellite operator has to lease spectrum from the carriers holding every co-channel license across a "geographically independent area", such as the contiguous United States. In practice that means one carrier partnership per region, and it ties satellite service to the carrier's business plans. The FCC also rejected the 2.5 GHz band for satellite use when it first adopted the framework.

Chairman Brendan Carr said at the meeting that the 2024 rules had not been in place long but were already out of date. He pointed to about $45 billion in D2D spectrum deals over the past year, naming the SpaceX and EchoStar transaction, Amazon's purchase of Globalstar and Rocket Lab's deal for Iridium. The FCC approved the Amazon and Globalstar deal on October 27, giving Amazon's planned satellite network its own mobile satellite spectrum.

SpaceX has been the most active buyer. It agreed to pay roughly $17 billion for EchoStar's AWS-4 and H-block licenses, and in October agreed to acquire Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum. The company said that low-band spectrum would help Starlink Mobile signals reach phones inside buildings.

What the FCC proposal would change

The notice of proposed rulemaking, filed under GN Dockets 26-281 and 23-65, has three main parts.

More bands. The proposal would make 482 MHz more spectrum available for SCS and expand the list of eligible bands from five to 13. That includes the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands that carriers use for high-capacity 5G, which is where most of the opposition is focused.

No more region-wide leases. Instead of leasing from every carrier in a whole region, an operator could certify that it has coexistence agreements covering only the area it plans to serve. Under the public draft, the terms of those agreements would not have to be filed, and non-exclusive deals would be the default unless the parties negotiated otherwise.

A path without carriers. An operator that holds the terrestrial license itself could certify that instead. That route fits SpaceX, which the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau allowed on October 21 to buy three unused AWS-3 licenses from Tristar.

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt said the agency changed how it seeks comment on bands that use time-division duplexing (TDD), where uplink and downlink share the same channels at different times. "There were a number of concerns that were raised in the record on some of the technical challenges there," he said. He added that the FCC did not act on a last-minute SpaceX request to include part of the lower 900 MHz band, spectrum tied to a separate pending petition from NextNav.

Carr framed the item as a balance. "I am confident that we can bring more D2D flexibility while maintaining America's world-class 5G networks," he said.

The carriers' objections and other perspectives

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, filing through the industry group CTIA, argued that about 300 million users rely on the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands and that satellite operations there are not technically feasible. Their core argument is about timing: TDD networks depend on towers switching between sending and receiving in sync, and satellites are too far away to stay aligned with towers on the ground.

T-Mobile, which calls 2.5 GHz the foundation of its Ultra Capacity 5G network, said in its own filing that satellite interference could wipe out up to 96% of a cell site's uplink coverage area and cut uplink speeds by 88% to 99%. Executives from all three carriers met FCC staff on October 20, and T-Mobile chief executive Srini Gopalan met Carr separately. T-Mobile is still SpaceX's US launch partner for Starlink Mobile, which makes its opposition notable.

The carriers also dispute the competitive threat. On Verizon's third-quarter earnings call, its chief executive said Starlink Mobile "just can't compete with a terrestrial network" and estimated that SpaceX would need four to six years and $300 billion to $500 billion to build a full US carrier network. In May, the three carriers agreed in principle to form a joint venture that pools spectrum for their own satellite service.

SpaceX pushed the other way. In an October 23 filing, it asked the FCC to add the 902-928 MHz band, arguing, "Doing so now saves time later." The Satellite Industry Association welcomed the vote, with president Tom Stroup saying access to spectrum is "more important than ever" for satellite D2D growth.

Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency's only Democrat, voted yes but said she did not want the framework to let one or two companies dominate the D2D market. She said Carr's office agreed to ask about a "spectrum screen" for satellite spectrum, the kind of ownership review the FCC already applies to terrestrial mobile licenses, along with a Tribal licensing window.

The companion auction and drone spectrum

The FCC also voted unanimously to propose an auction of 25 MHz in the 1675-1695 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz bands, under WT Docket 26-284. Winners could use it for 5G or 6G towers, for satellite-to-phone service, or for a hybrid of both.

"We expect big interest in this seemingly modest amount of spectrum — indeed, similar D2D bands are selling for tens of billions of dollars on the secondary market today," Carr said. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is still studying the 1675-1695 MHz band, which the government partly uses to send weather balloon data, and Carr said that study should finish by early 2027. Gomez said "important technical questions" remain about whether satellite and terrestrial users can share these bands.

In a third item, the commission adopted an order letting drones use nearly 50 MHz in the 800 MHz cellular band, which had barred airborne use. "Virtually all drones need access to spectrum," Carr said. Amazon, which runs drone deliveries, welcomed the change.

What it means for you

For phone users in the US, nothing changes this year. Satellite texting and data services that already work through carrier partnerships continue under the 2024 rules. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said service on SpaceX's own spectrum is targeted for early 2028, and the FCC approved SpaceX's plan for 15,000 next-generation direct-to-cell satellites in October.

For people in rural areas and dead zones, the proposal matters more. More bands and simpler deals could mean more satellite providers competing to fill coverage gaps, rather than one satellite partner per carrier. The carriers warn that the trade-off could be weaker uplink performance on 5G networks if satellites share the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands.

For readers in the UK, Canada and Australia, these rules apply only in the US. Each national regulator sets its own spectrum terms, so satellite-to-phone options there depend on local decisions, even when the same constellations are involved.

For investors and businesses, the proposal changes the value of spectrum. If satellite companies can hold licenses directly, the bands that SpaceX, Amazon and others have been buying become more useful, and carriers lose some of their bargaining power.

What happens next

The FCC had not released the final adopted text on the day of the vote, so it is not yet clear exactly how the TDD bands are framed. Once the notice is published in the Federal Register, the draft sets a 60-day window for comments, followed by replies and then a second vote on final rules.

Key questions to watch:

1. Whether the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands survive, given the carriers' interference data and the FCC's adjusted questions on TDD.
2. Whether the FCC adopts a satellite spectrum screen, which could limit how much spectrum a single operator can hold.
3. How the NTIA study of 1675-1695 MHz, expected by early 2027, shapes the auction.

Conclusion

The October 29 vote is the clearest sign yet that the FCC wants satellite-to-phone service to stand on its own rather than depend on a single carrier deal. It is still a proposal, and the most valuable bands are the most contested.

• Do not expect new service soon: final rules need another vote, and SpaceX's own-spectrum service is targeted for early 2028.
• Watch the docket: anyone can file comments in GN Dockets 26-281 and 23-65 once the comment window opens.
• Check your current options: if you rely on satellite texting in remote areas, confirm with your carrier which phones and plans are covered today.
• Track the TDD bands: the fate of 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz will decide how much of the 482 MHz is actually usable.