The U.S. wireless policy landscape entering December 2025 is defined by three intersecting trends: an aggressive push to free up mid band spectrum for commercial 5G and 6G use, new uses of auctions as a tool to fund security priorities, and continued refinement of dynamic sharing regimes that directly affect how military, commercial, and hobbyist radios coexist. These are not abstract regulatory moves. They change where and how spectrum is usable in contested and congested environments, and they change the operating constraints that electromagnetic and drone operators must account for.

The FCC voted in November to open a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Upper C band (roughly 3.98 to 4.2 GHz), seeking comment on clearing between 100 and 180 megahertz for terrestrial flexible use and on rules to support auctioning that spectrum. The item explicitly ties technical choices to adjacent-band safety work, notably coordination with aviation stakeholders over radio altimeters. For tactical practitioners this means mid band capacity is likely to grow, but coexistence constraints near airports and on altimeter-protected frequencies will be stricter and more heavily engineered.

Separately, the FCC has moved to leverage spectrum auctions as a funding mechanism to accelerate removal of foreign equipment from U.S. networks. Earlier in 2025 the commission advanced an auction intended to raise funds for rip and replace programs for equipment from certain Chinese vendors. That political pressure and funding logic matters because it shapes which blocks are offered for commercial use and when. For operators planning EW or research activities, auction-driven repurposing shortens the time horizon for incumbency and increases the probability of mid band reassignments in the next 18 to 30 months.

Policy is not only top down. The NTIA, FCC and the Navy worked in 2024 to expand the unencumbered service area for CBRS by changing the aggregate interference model that governs 3.5 GHz sharing. That change increased the population that can access CBRS in an unprotected way by tens of millions and invited Spectrum Access System administrators to demonstrate new protection implementations. For EW planners and drone teams this kind of rule change is consequential. CBRS is already a practical mid band option for private networks, and dynamic protection model updates change where high power or priority federal operations can preempt commercial signals. Any nonfederal user needs to factor dynamic protection areas into deployment planning and test all coexistence scenarios before relying on CBRS in contested or border-adjacent environments.

Regulatory decisions are also bleeding into corporate compliance and transaction approvals. On December 4, 2025 the FCC approved a spectrum purchase by AT&T from U.S. Cellular that was conditioned on corporate commitments unrelated to RF engineering. That approval highlights how spectrum transactions can carry broader policy strings. Practically, industry consolidation and conditional approvals change the roster of bidders and the scale of license holdings that end up in operators hands after auctions and secondary market trades. From an EW perspective, consolidation affects interference footprints and the number of large operators with whom to coordinate.

Operational implications for electronic warfare and drone operators

1) Mid band is the sprint zone. Expect more commercial activity in mid band slices that historically carried satellite or government services. That produces denser, higher duty cycle signals in portions of 3.7 to 4.2 GHz. EW planners should update spectral occupancy baselines, rerun vulnerability scans on radars and altimeters, and prioritize mitigations for equipment that shares band edges.

2) Sharing regimes matter more than ever. When agencies permit tighter aggregate interference limits or reduce dynamic protection area sizes, usable footprints for commercial transmitters expand. That is good for civilian connectivity, and it raises the operational bar for conflict avoidance. Systems that rely on geofencing, GPS-denied navigation, or spectrum sensing must be field tested under updated Spectrum Access System behaviors.

3) Auctions change timing and predictability. If spectrum is being prepped for auction to raise federal funds or to satisfy legislative mandates, incumbents get compressed transition windows. That shortens the planning cycle for alternate frequencies and accelerates the need for cross-sector coordination. Any planned research that involves higher power or experimental emissions should check auction calendars and public notices before committing equipment.

4) Compliance and secondary impacts. Regulatory conditions tied to approvals can ripple into corporate behavior and market structure. That decides who holds spectrum, and it affects roaming, rural coverage, and available backhaul in a way that indirectly shapes where EW testing and drone operations are practical. Practitioners should treat major transaction filings and FCC public notices as part of their operational intelligence.

Recommendations for engineers, hobbyists and security professionals

  • Rebaseline. Run fresh spectral scans in 3.4 to 4.2 GHz ranges and map out new sources of continuous or pulsed energy. Validate detection and locking routines against denser mid band traffic.

  • Watch public dockets. The Upper C-band NPRM and CBRS filings mean comment periods and demonstrations will produce technical detail and implementation timelines. If you operate equipment near these bands register for ECFS or agency mailing lists and subscribe to docket updates.

  • Coordinate before you experiment. Changes in sharing rules and auction activity increase the risk that an experimental transmission will collide with higher priority operations. File proper authorizations, use test ranges, or confine work to well established unlicensed bands when you do not have explicit permission.

  • Factor aviation safety. Upgrades and standards work around radio altimeters will be part of the regulatory process. Any airborne EW or drone activity that could generate energy near altimeter bands must be conservatively planned and coordinated with local aviation authorities.

Bottom line

Policy action through late 2025 moves mid band from a latent resource to an active battleground for commercial scale deployments, federal security priorities, and coexistence engineering. For EW and drone operators that means more spectral neighbors, faster transition timelines, and higher compliance risk. Staying current with FCC, NTIA and federal partner notices, and baking updated spectrum models into test plans, is now essential work rather than an occasional housekeeping task.