Educational Broadband Service (EBS) and Broadband Radio Service (BRS) licenses are Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorizations for using 2.5 GHz spectrum intended for TV broadcasting by schools and for fixed and mobile internet. The EBS licenses were originally provided at no cost to schools, colleges, and non-profits to transmit educational content using TV broadcasting but later liberalized for broader commercial use, including cellular mobile.

Today, in markets across the US, the 2.5 GHz frequency band is most often used to provide spectrum for new 5G cellular networks. Notably, it is a key spectrum band for T-Mobile. Numerous schools and other educational institutions and public television stations holding these FCC licenses have assigned the spectrum to T-Mobile in long-term 30-year leases. Many of the spectrum license lease agreements, originally negotiated by Sprint and Nextel in the early 2000s, will expire over the next decade. Existing contracts likely significantly undervalue the associated spectrum, and many lessors could be in line for a financial windfall.

NERA undertook a survey of EBS licenses based on FCC public data. We identified 2,526 active EBS P35 licenses, of which 1,663 (66% of the total) are leased out by schools and public television stations to mobile carriers and commercial internet providers.¹ T-Mobile is by far the biggest lessee of the EBS spectrum licenses, owning just 718 licenses but leasing 1,198 licenses. The term length of these leases varies significantly, but many expire between 2026 and 2035.

Recent FCC radio spectrum auctions and secondary market sales of EBS spectrum demonstrate the significant value mobile companies are willing to pay for spectrum in the 2–4 GHz spectrum range. The schools’ 2.5 GHz EBS licenses are in the middle of this important range. For example, AT&T recently paid $23 billion to EchoStar for 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz spectrum (which has similar characteristics to 2.5 GHz) and other spectrum bands. We estimate the value paid for 3.45 GHz at an average price of $1.05 per MHz-pop (i.e., price divided by the number of MHz and the population covered by the license). Mobile operators paid even more, $1.29 per MHz-pop, for 3.7 GHz in a 2021 FCC spectrum auction. Although the FCC’s 2022 auction for 2.5 GHz spectrum (spectrum in geographies not covered by licenses provided to schools by the FCC in the 1980s) raised only 6–8 cents per MHz-pop, the low price can be attributed to a combination of lower need for spectrum in rural, unpopulated geographies and structural factors that limited competition in the auction.

The value of a particular EBS license to operators may be higher or lower than the national average, depending on the following factors:

• Population covered. Spectrum is typically valued on the number of residents in the spectrum area, using the US Census. It is necessary to determine the population covered in the 70-mile diameter of the EBS license’s circular geographic service area, subject to a fair division of any overlap with adjacent licenses held by other entities.
• Geographic location. 2.5 GHz spectrum is valuable everywhere, but it is particularly valuable in urban areas, especially larger cities, where cellular networks need more capacity and densifying existing networks through additional build-out of towers is expensive.
• MHz covered. Spectrum is also valued on a per MHz basis. A typical EBS license consists of 23.5 MHz of spectrum, partitioned into several channels or blocks.
• Frequency position. Mobile operators prefer larger blocks of bandwidth because this approach enables 5G technology to deliver maximum speeds and capacity. They may place a premium on larger chunks of MHz or blocks located in the middle of the band that are part of a larger contiguous aggregation of licenses. Such preferences are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, including an expected transition to 6G technology deployment at 2.5 GHz in the 2030s.

Example of Estimated Value. As an example of potential license value, if the 70-mile spectrum circular EBS license area includes a population of 1 million residents and the EBS license is 22.5 MHz (four channels), the potential value of the license to a mobile operator, using a benchmark of $1.05 per MHz of population, is $23,625,000.

Many schools, colleges, and public television broadcasters that hold EBS licenses will soon face decisions regarding whether to renew their spectrum lease agreements with a mobile company or sell the 2.5 GHz EBS licenses. Given the high value of the spectrum, schools and other licensees may reasonably expect to negotiate improved terms or to sell the license for a significant sum. For many, T-Mobile will be the obvious buyer, although there may be other interested parties. Already in 2026 (as of 23 February), T-Mobile has registered with the FCC applications for the authorization of purchases of EBS licenses from 10 entities, including schools, universities, and a public broadcaster.

To secure a good outcome in future sale or lease negotiations, just like selling a building or tract of land, it is essential that educational institutions obtain a professional valuation, also known as a fairness opinion. This is a core message in a recent article by the law firm Phillips Lytle on the legal implications for EBS license holders of the 2019 FCC changes in ownership rules for the 2.5 GHz band.² Obtaining a valuation is particularly important in situations in which there may be only one buyer and little scope to use competitive offers to set a market price. In general, EBS license holders should not expect to realize the full value of spectrum to a mobile operator but should expect a proportionate payout.

Factors impacting the share of value they may achieve include:

• Strategic fit. Mobile companies will likely pay more for licenses they perceive as having best fit with their existing spectrum portfolios, for example because the spectrum is integral to larger 5G block or the operator’s spectrum portfolio in a region is comparatively weak. In some markets, adjacent lessees may be able to enhance the value of their spectrum by coordinating their assets.
• Lease termination date. Value is derived from a combination of the net present value (NPV) of future lease payments and the lump sum value of the license at the point of expiration, assuming the holder of the FCC spectrum license is then free to negotiate new terms. If existing terms underprice the spectrum, then value should go up as leases approach expiration.
• Other lease terms. Clauses in existing lease agreements, such as restrictions on sale and price escalation, may also impact valuation.
• License renewal. EBS licenses expire periodically and must be renewed by the FCC. This should be a formality if the license is being used appropriately, but ensuing regulatory filings are up to date is important.

As the educational institutions’ EBS lease agreements draw closer to expiration, it is likely that mobile operators using leases, including T-Mobile and others, will become more active in pursuing buy-outs of the school’s EBS licenses or re-negotiating license lease terms. Educational institutions should prepare for this looming deadline by obtaining professional valuations for their licenses, such as provided by NERA. With this information, they may also consider more proactive strategies to realize the significant value of these assets.

[1] The FCC auctioned a further 8,017 flexible use licenses in Auction 108, most of which were bought by T-Mobile. These licenses were whitespace licenses that covered areas that did not have an incumbent EBS/BRS licensee. We also exclude from our analysis legacy BTA licenses and licenses on tribal lands.

[2] Keener, Barlow, “The Value and Sale of Your School’s FCC Educational Broadband Service (EBS) Spectrum Licenses: What Every School Board Member Needs to Know,” Phillips Lytle LLP, 16 March 2026, available at https://phillipslytle.com/ the-value-and-sale-of-your-schools-fcc-educationalbroadband-service-ebs-spectrum-licenses.