The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to auction off mid-band spectrum access to support 5G implementation throughout the continental U.S. Jessica Rosenworcel, acting chairwoman of the FCC, released a draft order seeking to free up 100 megahertz in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for federal and nonfederal use, FCC said Tuesday.

In addition to supporting low-latency network services and a potential $1.5 trillion market, the Auction 110 initiative is also meant to drive the transition to the 2.9-3.0 GHz band for radiolocation operators that do not fall under the federal government.

The auction comes as part of efforts to comply with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which tasks the FCC to establish competitive bidding procedures for licensing 3.45 GHz band access by the year’s end.

“We need to deliver the 5G that the American people were promised,” said Rosenworcel. “That means a 5G that is fast, secure, resilient, and—most importantly—available across the country.”

The adoption of Rosenworcel’s draft order will be discussed at the FCC’s March 17th Open Meeting. Bidding activities are scheduled for October 2021.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has said the nation must take a “whole-of-government approach” and relaunch the National Space Council (NSC) to drive the discussion on the space domain while eliminating bureaucracy.

Wicker, who serves as a ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, wrote in an opinion piece published Tuesday on SpaceNews that President Biden must reactivate the National Space Council to “keep space issues on the radar” and provide a forum for related diplomatic discussions.

The council must also have a diverse set of experts to reflect space policy's implications on commercial, military and civil customers, he noted. These applications include satellite communications technologies and on-orbit servicing which is an inherently dual-use concept.

“The Biden Administration should reenlist the proven success of the National Space Council,” said Wicker. “Space policy is too important to be delegated to mid-level interagency groups who lack the authority to make difficult and consequential decisions. The ever-expanding space domain requires the attention of the President’s appointees.”

Redwire, a leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, has acquired Deployable Space Systems (DSS) for an undisclosed amount. 

“DSS has an unmatched reputation for innovative deployable space technologies and infrastructure, and that is a perfect fit for Redwire’s technology portfolio,” said Peter Cannito, chairman and CEO of Redwire. “These new capabilities will expand our set of space infrastructure solutions and deliver even greater value to our customers.”

DSS is the leading developer and provider of satellite mechanisms, deployable structures and booms and deployable solar array systems to the global space market. The company’s key products include deployable solar array systems, deployable structural and mechanical systems and supporting subsystems.

“Redwire has the vision, resources, reputation and relationships to take DSS to the next level, and we’re excited to join the team at this critical stage of our company growth,” said DSS President and Co-founder Brian Spence. 

“As a part of Redwire, we will be able to better serve our customers and scale our capabilities to support demand, while maintaining our innovative culture and strong commitment to provide the highest value for our customers.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as the financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as the legal advisor to Redwire. Fell, Marking, Abkin, Montgomery, Granet & Raney, LLP was the legal advisor to DSS.

Perspecta announced on Wednesday that the company has received a potential five-year, $38 million contract award to continue supporting the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) with a mission-critical program for contractor management for the Department of Defense (DOD).

Through the new award, Persepcta will modernize the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker – Enterprise Suite (SPOT-ES) to enable the DMDC to monitor threats in environments with deployed contractors.

“DMDC will benefit from Perspecta’s ingenuity and drive to optimize digital environments while ensuring cyber resiliency,” said Jeff Bohling, senior vice president of Perspecta’s Defense Group. “The SPOT-ES award is reflective of Perspecta’s growing impact on mission-critical programs within the DOD.”

The company will also work to inform DOD decision makers about the status of personnel, training and security related to humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. Perspecta will also provide cloud migration, software development, quality assurance, 24/7 help desk support and training.

About Perspecta Inc.

At Perspecta (NYSE: PRSP), we question, we seek and we solve. Perspecta brings a diverse set of capabilities to our U.S. government customers in defense, intelligence, civilian, health care and state and local markets.

Our 280+ issued, licensed and pending patents are more than just pieces of paper, they tell the story of our innovation. With offerings in mission services, digital transformation and enterprise operations, our team of nearly 14,000 engineers, analysts, investigators and architects work tirelessly to not only execute the mission, but build and support the backbone that enables it. Perspecta was formed to take on big challenges.