SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a summary of the Commission's document (Public Notice), in GN Docket No. 25-59, DA 26-1049, released on September 30, 2026. The Public Notice includes the following attachment: Attachment A, Upper C-band Transition Preliminary Cost Catalog of Potential Expenses and Estimate Costs. The complete text of the Public Notice, including the attachment, is available on the Commission's website at docs.fcc.gov/​public/​attachments/​DA-26-1049A1.pdf or by using the search function for GN Docket No. 25-59 on the Commission's ECFS web page at www.fcc.gov/​ecfs/​.

Pursuant to 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on the first page of the Public Notice.

Ex Parte Rules: The proceeding shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must: (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda, or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with § 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules. In proceedings governed by § 1.49(f) of the Commission's rules or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format ( e.g.,.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules (47 CFR 1.1200 et seq.).

Synopsis

With this Public Notice, the Bureau invites interested parties to comment on the Cost Catalog contained in Attachment A. In the Upper C-band R&O (91 FR 55281 (Aug. 27, 2026)), the Commission adopted rules to make 160 megahertz of mid-band spectrum available for flexible use throughout the contiguous United States by transitioning incumbent Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) operations out of 4.0-4.16 GHz. The Upper C-band R&O established that new Upper C-band wireless licensees in the 3.7 GHz Service will reimburse the reasonable and necessary transition costs of incumbents to transition out of the reconfigured portion of the band. The Upper C-band R&O further gives incumbent earth station operators the option to elect on a per-site basis a lump sum payment in lieu of actual cost reimbursement. The lump sum election is irrevocable, and any incumbent earth station operators that select the lump sum will have opted out of the formal transition process, will be responsible for their own transition work for the relevant sites from that point forward, and must comply with the relevant Transition Deadline for the partial economic area (PEA) where they are located.

Actual Cost Reimbursement. To provide additional guidance on compensable costs in connection with actual cost reimbursements, the Commission directed the Bureau to develop a Cost Catalog and instructed the Upper C-band Clearinghouse, which will administer the financial aspects of the transition, to presume as reasonable all reimbursement claims that fall within the estimated range of costs that the Cost Catalog identifies. To this end, the Commission engaged a contractor, Teltrium, Inc. (Teltrium), to assist with developing the Preliminary Cost Catalog in Attachment A, which contains draft categories for the most common anticipated transition tasks and related ranges of presumptively reasonable expenses that incumbents may incur as they clear operations out of 4.0-4.16 GHz. This Preliminary Cost Catalog is based in part upon the Final Cost Catalog that was developed in 2020 for the Lower C-band transition (85 FR 47209), with adjustments for inflation, but it also includes proposed new categories tailored to the different anticipated transition steps implicated by the Upper C-band transition. To compile the information needed for the Preliminary Cost Catalog, Teltrium considered comments and filings in the underlying record in GN Docket No. 25-59, publicly available pricing and technical information, and information obtained from confidential interviews with vendors and other targeted stakeholders, including satellite ( printed page 66141) operators and earth station operators, about their anticipated transition work.

We seek comment on the Preliminary Cost Catalog, including whether the draft categories and estimated range of expenses for each category are reasonable. As mentioned, this Preliminary Cost Catalog is based in part on the Lower C-band Final Cost Catalog, and we seek comment whether additional updates are necessary to better suit the specific circumstances of the Upper C-band transition. If so, what additional transition tasks and categories should we include? We note that the Cost Catalog is only intended to cover the most common anticipated transition tasks and is not a comprehensive list of every possible relocation action whose costs may ultimately be deemed reimbursable. Claimants may still submit claims for items not included in the final Cost Catalog, and those claims will be subject to review and disposition by the Upper C-band Clearinghouse as part of its remit to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Further, in formulating this list as a guidance resource, we do not intend for it to constrain the Upper C-band Clearinghouse from exercising its independent judgment on what claims or elements thereof constitute optional upgrades or non-compensable costs as it assesses the specific merits of individual claims. For the initial categories set forth in the Preliminary Cost Catalog, and for any additions that commenters may suggest, commenters seeking adjustments are encouraged to provide specific pricing information for individual items as well as more general information on the costs that incumbents expect to incur.

Incumbent Earth Station Lump Sum Payments. The Preliminary Cost Catalog sets forth specific lump sum categories and amounts for incumbent earth station operators seeking to opt out of the formal transition process led by the eligible space station operators. This mechanism will afford lump sum electees the option to: (1) perform their own transition work to maintain FSS service; (2) migrate to an alternative distribution technology, such as an IP-delivered service; or (3) discontinue service altogether. While the decision to opt for the lump sum payment in lieu of actual cost reimbursement is irrevocable, incumbent earth station operators may elect lump sum payments on a per-site basis to enable operators with a mix of facilities in urban and rural areas to opt for the type of transition that best meets their long-term needs. We reiterate that any incumbent earth station operators electing the lump sum will be responsible for their own transition work for the relevant sites from that point forward and must comply with the relevant Transition Deadline for the PEA where they are located.

We seek comment on the preliminary lump sum categories and amounts provided in Appendix A, which, as directed by the Commission in the Upper C-band R&O, are based upon the average estimated, reasonable costs of transitioning those facilities out of 4.0-4.16 GHz, including costs related to the potential migration of service or links to the Ku-band. We also seek comment on the proposed lump sum amount for each category and the methodology used to arrive at those amounts. Does the methodology described in Appendix A and these amounts reflect the appropriate lump-sum inputs for each class of earth station? Should we make any adjustments to account for other factors? We also seek comment on the specific filing and certification procedures used in connection with the Lower C-band transition and whether to repurpose them here or adjust them, given the shift to a per-site lump sum approach in the instant transition.