On August 27, 2026, the FCC released a Report and Order (“R&O”) on the Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2026. The R&O adopts a schedule of regulatory fees to assess and collect $416,112,000 in regulatory fees for FY 2026. As discussed below,the FCC sets the rounded FY 2026 regulatory fee for CMRS Mobile Services at $0.163 per telephone number count/subscriber, for CMRS Messaging Services at $0.08 per telephone number count/subscriber, and for Transmit/Receive and Transmit-only Earth Stations at $2,970 per authorization or registration.
The FCC released a Public Notice announcing that regulatory fees are due September 24, 2026, and providing payors with information on how to pay their fees. Fees must be paid through the FCC’s Commission Registration System (“CORES”). Regulatory fees that are not paid in full by the due date will be assessed a 25% late payment penalty and will accrue interest until paid in full.
Wireless Services: CMRS Cellular, Mobile, and Messaging Services (fees based on number of subscribers or telephone number count): Regulatory fees must be paid for authorizations that were granted on or before October 1, 2025. The number of subscribers, units, or telephone numbers on December 31, 2025 will be used as the basis from which to calculate the fee payment. In instances where a permit or license is transferred or assigned after October 1, 2025, responsibility for payment rests with the holder of the permit or license as of the fee due date. For wireless services with multi-year fees (e.g., microwave authorizations), entities pay the fees in advance for the entire period covered by the five-year or ten-year terms of their initial licenses and pay regulatory fees again only when the license is renewed or a new license is obtained.
- Appendix B lists the FY 2026 schedule of regulatory fees by category. The FCC sets the rounded FY 2026 regulatory fee for CMRS Mobile Services at $0.163 per telephone number (subscriber) count and for CMRS Messaging Services at $0.08 per telephone number (subscriber) count. (See also Appendix C).
- The Commission compiles data from the Numbering Resource Utilization Forecast (“NRUF”) report based on “assigned” telephone number (subscriber) counts that have been adjusted for porting to net Type 0 ports (“in” and “out”). This subscriber count information will be posted on the FCC’s Commission Registration System (“CORES”) along with the carrier’s Operating Company Numbers (“OCNs”).
Earth Stations: Regulatory fees must be paid for earth stations that were licensed (or authorized) on or before October 1, 2025. In instances where a permit or license is transferred or assigned after October 1, 2025, responsibility for payment rests with the holder of the authorization as of the fee due date.
- The FCC sets the FY 2026 regulatory fee for Earth Stations (Transmit/Receive and Transmit only) at $2,970 per authorization or registration.
Industry-specific fact sheets with additional information and guidance on 2026 regulatory fees will be made available at: http://www.fcc.gov/regfees.
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