US FCC to vote on advancing new spectrum auction to boost 'direct to device' services

​The ​US Federal Communications ‌Commission said ​on Wednesday that it ‌will vote on October 29 on whether to advance a ‌new auction of wireless spectrum ‌to boost "direct-to-device" services. The FCC is also holding an initial ⁠vote ​on ⁠modernizing its rules for "direct-to-device" services and ⁠to finalize rules to allow drone ​operations within the 800 ⁠MHz cellular band.

Direct-to-device satellite technology ⁠allows ​smartphones and other devices to connect directly to ⁠satellites and is being developed by ⁠SpaceX, ⁠Amazon's Leo and others.