After a period of sustained lobbying by both parties, the battle between mobile telecoms and Wi-Fi services providers in the UK for use of upper 6 GHz spectrum band looks to be over, with the country’s comms regulator Ofcom proposing sharing of the potentially hugely lucrative airwave segment.
Historically, mobile and Wi-Fi services have had to use different parts of radio spectrum to avoid interference. Telcos have argued that enabling the 6 GHz band for mobile use will ensure consumers and businesses receive even faster and more reliable 5G services over the next five to 10 years, while avoiding a mobile capacity crunch caused by soaring demand for bandwidth as more devices and services – such as augmented reality headsets, health sensors and vehicles – are connected to mobile networks that require greater processing power and capacity.
For their part, Wi-Fi players said that the 6GHz band in their domain is satisfying growing demand for higher-bandwidth services and more immersive experiences. The Wi-Fi Alliance, which represents the worldwide network of companies that brings Wi-Fi products and services, believes that the Wi-Fi 6E standard has gained traction as the de-facto industry standard in products and with the healthcare, education, and sports and entertainment environments, since its introduction.
Ofcom noted that its new proposals came just as the UK’s full-fibre roll-out continued at speed yet with broadband companies and businesses still struggling to keep up with the demand for airwaves that can be used for Wi-Fi. It added that mobile companies also face challenges, particularly in busy places such as train stations or stadiums, where large crowds of people are all using their phone.
The regulator’s approach would work by dividing up the upper 6 GHz band, with Wi-Fi prioritised in one part and mobile in the other, with clear technical conditions and controls attached. Doing this, said the regulator, would unlock significant benefits for households, businesses and the wider UK economy.
Ofcom described its proposals as “pioneering” and “breaking new ground for growth and innovation”, making the UK the first country in Europe to commit to sharing radio spectrum frequencies between these two different technologies. Its plans would see mobile masts and Wi-Fi routers in different locations be able to use parts of the same frequency band to transmit their signals.
Stating the move will provide boost for the economy in general, Ofcom said the spectrum-sharing approach would supply a significant increase in capacity for both mobile and Wi-Fi services. This would support the broadband sector to provide advanced Wi-Fi to businesses, industry and homes. It added that it would also help mobile companies keep up with demand in busy locations, support data-hungry technologies such as virtual reality and AI, and prepare for the introduction of 6G in future.
By helping both the mobile and broadband sectors to enhance their services and cope with the increase in traffic volumes, Ofcom suggested that proposals could create further opportunities for innovation, growth and investment.
As it published details of the proposal, Ofcom stressed that the spectrum sharing in the upper 6 GHz band would see different priorities in different portions of the band, and it would be subject to clear technical conditions and strict controls to prevent services interfering with the other. It also proposed that existing low power Wi-Fi technology would be able to use this portion of spectrum by the end of 2026. Mobile would come later, with a focus on serving densely populated areas where demand is highest.
Ofcom has now officially opened a consultation on its proposals and said that it would welcome responses by 20 March 2026.
In a separate move, Ofcom decided to allow the lower 6 GHz frequency band to be used differently. These frequencies, which are currently used for low power and indoor Wi-Fi, will soon be available for high power and outdoor Wi-Fi. It said this could help to bring advanced, high-quality Wi-Fi to places such as sports stadiums, high-tech factories, hospitals, railway stations and universities.
To avoid interference to other users of the band, Ofcom has opened a consultation on how Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) technology, which automatically communicates with Wi-Fi equipment to avoid interference at any given time, can be registered and work effectively.
