The FCC votes Thursday on satellite-to-phone rules: what is at stake

Regulation · News · Published October 27, 2026 · SatellitePlan

Short answerOn Thursday, October 29, the FCC votes on a proposal to open 482 more megahertz of spectrum to satellite-to-phone service, the biggest single expansion of the Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) framework since it was created in 2024. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are lobbying to carve out 290 MHz of mid-band spectrum, arguing satellite signals will interfere with 5G towers. Important caveat: Thursday's item is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, meaning the FCC votes to open the proceeding and take public comment, not to set final rules. The outcome still shapes how much capacity Starlink Mobile, T-Satellite and AST SpaceMobile can eventually use.

What exactly is the FCC voting on?

Bar showing 482 MHz proposed for satellite-to-phone at the October 29 FCC vote, split into 192 MHz uncontested and 290 MHz of mid-band that carriers want excluded. The vote opens the rulemaking; final rules come later. — Figures from the FCC's fact sheet on the SCS Notice and the CTIA petition as reported by IEEE ComSoc. Illustration by SatellitePlan.

The proposal, titled "Unleashing Licensed Spectrum for Direct-to-Device," would modernize the SCS rules that govern how satellites use ordinary mobile spectrum to reach phones. Per the FCC's own fact sheet, it would:

Make an additional 482 MHz available for satellite-to-phone service, expanding the framework from 5 spectrum bands to 13.
Scrap the requirement that a satellite operator lease spectrum from every terrestrial license holder across a whole "geographically independent area," replacing it with custom-sized license areas and coexistence agreements, or letting an operator use licenses it owns itself.
Extend automatic device licensing to all phones using the service, and transition the four existing SCS authorizations, all of which currently run on waivers, onto the modernized framework.

A companion item the same day proposes auctioning terrestrial licenses in the 1675-1695 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz bands with a secondary satellite allocation.

Why are AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile fighting it?

Through their trade group CTIA, the three carriers petitioned the FCC on October 22 to exclude 290 MHz of mid-band spectrum, the 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz bands, from the proposal, per filings reported by SatNews and an IEEE ComSoc analysis. Their case is physics: terrestrial 5G in those bands uses tightly synchronized time-division duplexing, and a satellite downlink arriving out of phase bleeds into the slots where ground towers are listening. T-Mobile's RF modeling, cited in the petition, found a single high-power direct-to-device handset could raise the uplink noise floor of a cell site one to three miles away, effectively knocking out that sector's uplink.

Their fallback ask, if mid-band stays in: strict aggregate power limits that would force satellites to throttle downlink power over populated areas. The carriers have their own satellite ambitions, of course: the same three formed a joint venture this month to standardize direct-to-device as an open-access layer, which makes the fight look as much like leverage as like interference concern.

What would 482 MHz unlock?

Capacity. Today's satellite-to-phone services work, but mostly for texting and light data, because they squeeze through narrow slices of spectrum. Mid-band frequencies are the capacity lanes of 5G; opening even part of them to satellites is the difference between "text from a dead zone" and "usable broadband from a dead zone." The rule changes also matter: today's waiver-based system means every service launch is a bespoke negotiation, and the FCC itself notes all four authorized SCS networks run on waivers. A clean framework is what lets Starlink Mobile's newly approved 15,000-satellite constellation and AST's carrier partnerships scale into real services.

What happens after Thursday?

If the FCC adopts the Notice, as expected with the Chairman backing it, the proposal goes out for public comment, typically a few months of filings, replies, and lobbying before any final rules. The mid-band carve-out fight plays out in that docket. So Thursday sets the table; the actual spectrum menu gets decided later. Watch for whether the draft text already signals sympathy for the carriers' 290 MHz exclusion, and for how the FCC writes the interference limits.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the FCC voting on October 29?

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking called "Unleashing Licensed Spectrum for Direct-to-Device" that would open 482 more megahertz to satellite-to-phone service and modernize the Supplemental Coverage from Space rules. It opens the proceeding; final rules come after public comment.

What do AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile want?

Through CTIA, they petitioned the FCC to exclude 290 MHz of mid-band spectrum (2.5 and 3.45 GHz) from the framework, arguing satellite downlinks will interfere with terrestrial 5G uplinks, or failing that, to impose strict power limits.

Will this make satellite phone service faster?

Eventually, yes. Mid-band spectrum is the capacity that separates texting-grade service from real broadband. But the vote only starts the rulemaking, so any service impact is many months away.

Who benefits if the full 482 MHz is approved?

Satellite operators with direct-to-device plans: SpaceX's Starlink Mobile (fresh off FCC approval for 15,000 D2D satellites), AST SpaceMobile with its AT&T and Verizon partnerships, and carrier offerings like T-Satellite.

What is Supplemental Coverage from Space?

The FCC framework, created in March 2024, that lets satellites use ordinary mobile spectrum to serve phones in areas towers do not reach. Four networks are authorized today, all operating via waivers the new rules aim to make unnecessary.