Timeline and spectrum pipeline
What has happened and what is scheduled, 2018 to 2030: authorizations, FCC rules, spectrum allocation and auctions, ITU conferences, policy and defense, and the programs. Every band still to be allocated is listed with its stage and its deadlines.
Filled markers are past events, hollow markers are scheduled, bars are windows, and the dashed line is today. Click a marker for the detail and the source.
The Spectrum page maps the allocation events by band. Dates from FCC orders and public notices, the Federal Register, ITU announcements, SDA releases, the Office of Space Commerce, and the trade press where an order is not yet public. Scheduled launch dates move; treat them as no-earlier-than. Last checked September 13, 2026.
Regulatory events by year
Below are the regulatory events by year, for review. Open a year for its events; each links to its source.
Public Law 119-21 requires at least 800 MHz to be auctioned by 2034, including 100 MHz of Upper C-band by July 2027. This view tracks every band in that pipeline and the satellite allocations opening alongside it.
Bands by stage
Every band is a bar on the frequency axis, sitting in the lane of the stage it has reached. Bars move down the lanes as bands progress. Move across to preview, click for the detail.
Stages are the furthest point each band has reached: under study at NTIA or the FCC, identified for auction, rules adopted, auction scheduled, auctioned, and assigned or in use. Compiled from FCC and NTIA documents and the trade press; verify against the primary document before relying on it. Last checked September 13, 2026.
Transactions
Spectrum sales, leases, and auction results since July 2025
Deadlines
Statutory deadlines, auction dates, and WRC-27 dates
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