Despite recent decisions awarding the Wi-Fi community usage of the key wireless frequency range, the global mobile industry is ready to deploy services in the upper 6GHz spectrum band, and global mobile trade association the GSMA is calling on governments and regulators to include the full band in forward-looking spectrum roadmaps, and make it available for full-power macro-cell mobile use.
Historically, mobile and Wi-Fi services have had to use different parts of radio spectrum to avoid interference. This has led to a period of sustained lobbying between mobile telecoms and Wi-Fi services providers to gain use of upper 6GHz spectrum (6.425–7.125 GHz) for their users.
Telcos have argued that enabling the 6GHz 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 have insisted that the 6GHz band in their domain is satisfying growing demand for higher-bandwidth services and more immersive experiences. Wi-Fi trade associations have noted that demand for high-performance Wi-Fi has accelerated as artificial intelligence (AI), immersive applications, industrial automation, cloud computing and next-generation enterprise networks require greater capacity, lower latency and wider channels.
While the first upper 6GHz spectrum assignments have been made, and with a number of recent wins by the Wi-Fi community – most notably in the UK, more than 60 members of the mobile industry ecosystem have joined the GSMA in its view that the mobile industry is ready to deliver the equipment and solutions required for large-scale deployment of upper 6GHz networks.
This community includes mobile operators, device manufacturers, chipset makers, network equipment providers and other members of the mobile ecosystem.
Emphasising how the global mobile ecosystem is ready to deploy services in the upper 6GHz band, the GSMA noted that countries accounting for more than 80% of the world’s population now support mobile use of the upper 6GHz band following its harmonisation at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23). The band has subsequently been incorporated into national spectrum roadmaps around the world, providing the scale required to support a strong global equipment ecosystem.
Acknowledging the completion of the first assignments of upper 6GHz spectrum – with further awards expected across EMEA, Asia-Pacific and the Americas as individual market demand develops – the GSMA is calling on governments and regulators to include the full upper 6GHz band in clear, forward-looking spectrum roadmaps. It also called on regulators to make it available for full-power macro-cell mobile use to meet the needs of all of their citizens.
Specifically, the GSMA noted that the upper 6GHz band offers valuable city-wide capacity when used by full-power macro-cell mobile networks. And as data traffic continues to grow, it added that this additional mid-band spectrum is essential for meeting increasing customer demand while supporting the evolution of 5G-Advanced and the future introduction of 6G.
The GSMA made particular note of the fact that “crucially” the band can enable the 200-400MHz channel bandwidths expected to be required in the 6G era.
In a call to action regarding the issue, GSMA director general Vivek Badrinath said governments now have an important opportunity to turn international harmonisation into real-world connectivity by prioritising this spectrum for full-power mobile services.
“The message from the mobile ecosystem is clear: we are ready to put the upper 6GHz spectrum to work for consumers and businesses around the world,” he said. “Upper 6GHz represents one of the most important opportunities to secure the capacity needed for the next generation of mobile networks, creating a clear path from 5G-Advanced to 6G.
“Timely, pro-investment spectrum decisions are needed to give operators the certainty to invest, to help countries deliver their national digital ambitions, and to support mobile development that is efficient, innovative and, most importantly, inclusive,” said Badrinath. “It is a well-established spectrum policy principle that spectrum assignments should be timely and market-driven, with balanced, pro-investment conditions that enable operators to make efficient use of the spectrum. Such an approach will help ensure that upper 6GHz delivers its full potential for connectivity, innovation and economic growth.”
