European satellite operators Eutelsat and SES are set to receive a combined $6.1 billion for freeing up satellite spectrum in the US.
Under a plan approved by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Eutelsat expects to receive $504 million in pre-tax payments, while SES is set to receive about $5.6 billion, respectively.
Alongside the payments, both satellite giants will also be reimbursed for eligible costs incurred during the transition.
As a result, this will free up 160 megahertz of the C-band spectrum, granting telecom companies more capacity to expand wireless services.
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Additionally, the FCC’s plan equires both companies to gradually move their satellite services out of part of the C-band spectrum while ensuring customers continue to receive uninterrupted service.
The transition must be completed by 2030 and 2031 to qualify for the payments.
This comes as recently the FCC voted to ake more C-band spectrum available for 5G networks while also introducing new licensing rules designed to support growth in the commercial space industry.
Under this decision, 60 megahertz of upper C-band spectrum in the 3.98–4.14 gigahertz range will be put up for auction in July 2027, following the 2020 auction of 280 megahertz of lower C-band spectrum, which raised more than $80 billion from major telecom companies including Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
