SUMMARY

In a Public Notice released December 18, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced procedures have been established for the upcoming AWS-3 Spectrum Auction. The notice provides details regarding the inventory of spectrum to be auctioned, minimum opening bid amounts, bidding procedures and the deadlines for participation. This auction is being referred to as “Auction 113”.  

The FCC will be auctioning AWS-3 licenses in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands. Auction 113 is being structured with 200 geographic area licenses, consisting of 48 Economic Area (EA) licenses and 152 Cellular Market Area (CMA) licenses. As in prior licensed spectrum auctions, the FCC is structuring the auction as an ascending clock auction, with bid credits of 15% or 25% to be available for applicants that qualify either on a revenue basis or as a rural service provider.

This may apply to you if…

• You want to acquire licensed spectrum in or around your service area to aid in deployment of fixed wireless services.  
• You are seeking to augment existing licensed spectrum in overlapping Economic Areas (EAs) or Cellular Market Areas (CMAs) included in the auction, enabling greater capacity and operational efficiency. 
• You are a utility and require licensed spectrum to power smart grid solutions, enhancing grid resilience, real-time monitoring, and advanced energy management capabilities. 
• You need a secure, private communications network across your service territory to support mission-critical operations, improve workforce connectivity, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards

Action Items & Timeline

• Review the FCC released EXCEL spreadsheet for the complete listing of licenses to be auctioned, including upfront payments and minimum opening bids for each.  
• If you identify areas of interest, start the planning discussions now.  
• Short form application filing window opens January 26^th with a deadline of February 11^th. Failure to submit a short form will result in the inability to participate in the auction.