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

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 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. In 2025, 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 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. 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.