According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website on February 3, the FCC has taken a pioneering step to help tribal areas bridge the digital divide. The FCC announced the official opening of the "tribal priority" window, allowing federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native villages to apply for 2.5GHz spectrum. As the largest single band in the continuous spectrum lower than 3GHz, this band provides good coverage and capacity characteristics for 5g and other next generation mobile communications. Through the first priority window, tribes can get 2.5GHz spectrum free of charge before commercial auction. The priority window opened on February 3, 2020 and will close on August 3, 2020. The remaining unallocated 2.5GHz spectrum will then be auctioned for commercial use.
