• GSMA says more than 60 operators and suppliers support making 6.425–7.125GHz available for full-power mobile use
  • Ofcom's UK framework instead prioritises 160MHz for Wi-Fi and 540MHz for mobile, showing how national rules can differ

The fact

GSMA said on 7 September that the mobile industry was ready for large-scale deployment in the upper 6GHz band and called on governments to include the spectrum in national mobile plans. More than 60 operators, device makers, chip suppliers, and network-equipment companies backed the statement.

The association wants the full 6.425–7.125GHz band available for full-power mobile use. GSMA also said countries representing more than 80% of the world's population support mobile use of the band, although support in a national roadmap does not mean spectrum has already been awarded.

Different countries can choose different arrangements. In July, UK regulator Ofcom adopted a sharing framework that gives Wi-Fi priority in the lower 160MHz of the upper band and mobile priority in the remaining 540MHz. Higher-power Wi-Fi use is subject to automated frequency coordination under the relevant conditions.

The assessment

Equipment readiness is only one part of putting upper 6GHz into a mobile network. Operators still need regulators to decide how much spectrum they can use, at what power and under what sharing conditions before final network plans can be made.

Those rules can materially change a deployment. An operator given access to the full 700MHz band can plan differently from one working with a smaller mobile-priority block alongside Wi-Fi. The number of sites, available capacity, and equipment configuration can all depend on the final licence conditions.

For BTW readers, the important distinction is between equipment that is ready and spectrum that an operator is actually allowed to use. Operators can prepare supplier and network plans now, but firm deployment decisions still depend on national awards and technical rules. Ofcom's approach shows that governments do not have to follow the GSMA's preferred full-band model.

What to watch

Watch which countries move from supporting upper 6GHz mobile use to issuing actual spectrum awards. The frequencies awarded, licence areas, power limits and sharing conditions will determine what operators can deploy. Operator spending and site announcements after those decisions will show how quickly the available spectrum becomes usable network capacity.