Plan to Repurpose 2.7 GHz Band Clears Key Milestone, Fueling U.S. 6G Leadership

WASHINGTON—Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce announced a major milestone in repurposing the 2.7 GHz band for full-power commercial licensed use—clearing a key technical review and advancing America’s 6G leadership. 

“President Trump delivered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize federal systems, improve spectrum efficiency, and unlock high-power commercial access to advance American wireless innovation,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. “NTIA is executing on that mandate with urgency. This milestone brings us one step closer to ensuring the American people realize the full benefit of this spectrum as quickly as possible.” 

Last year, Congress gave NTIA a first-of-its-kind mandate: identify 500 MHz of federal spectrum for commercial use in five years. In December, the President went further, directing NTIA to complete its study of the 7.125-7.4 GHz band within 12 months and immediately begin studying whether portions of the 2.69-2.9 GHz band (“2.7 GHz”) and the 4.4-4.94 GHz band could be reallocated from federal use to full-power commercial licensed use. 

These mandates are central to ensuring the U.S. leads in 6G. The 2.7 GHz band offers an excellent combination of coverage and capacity—with signals capable of covering whole neighborhoods, including indoors—while also supporting the large, contiguous channels needed for next-generation, high-throughput applications. 

Incumbent federal agencies access funding from the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) to help defray the costs associated with spectrum relocation, but they must first submit detailed relocation plans. NTIA, as chair of the statutorily established SRF Technical Panel, alongside representatives from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal Communications Commission, has now approved those plans for the 2.7 GHz band and transmitted them to OMB. 

This milestone reflects rigorous technical review and close coordination across the Executive Branch. The Technical Panel’s approval does more than unlock access to funds from the SRF—it establishes a clear, executable roadmap for the engineering studies that must be completed for NTIA to identify spectrum for repurposing while protecting critical federal missions. 

Pursuant to statute, OMB will notify Congress of the approved relocation plans and associated cost estimates, triggering a 60-day review period by the Commerce and Appropriations Committees before OMB can release the requested funding. 

This approval enables the two primary federal users of the band—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration—to incorporate spectrum repurposing into their ongoing procurement of modernized radar systems, which will strengthen aviation safety and weather monitoring while improving spectral efficiency. NTIA is working closely with both agencies to ensure these systems are more resilient to interference and operate more efficiently—freeing up spectrum for 6G without compromising mission performance. 

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