GSMA terms WRC decisions on spectrum as groundbreaking
World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) will allow the mobile sector to plan the next wave of communications development through 5G-advanced and beyond, global telecom industry body GSMA said today.
Terming the decision of WRC identifying the upper 6 GHz band for IMT or mobile use as “groundbreaking”, GSMA said it would serve as a critical developmental trigger for manufacturers of the 6 GHz equipment ecosystem.
“WRC-23 took strong action to meet mobile data growth by identifying additional mid-band spectrum for mobile,” GSMA said in a statement.
As per decisions taken during the WRC-23, which concluded Friday in Dubai, final harmonisation of the 3.5 GHz band (3.3-3.8 GHz) – the pioneer 5G band – was achieved across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as well as throughout the Americas. “Notably, a new band – the 6 GHz band (6.425-7.125 GHz) – was identified for mobile in every ITU Region – EMEA, the Americas and the Asia Pacific.
Countries representing more than 60% of the world’s population asked to be included in the identification of this band for licensed mobile at WRC-23,” GSMA said.
The 6 GHz spectrum is now the harmonised home for the expansion of mobile capacity for 5G-advanced and beyond.
The telecom and tech industry were at loggerheads regarding the band.
While the telcos wanted it to be identified for IMT, the tech industry proposed delicensing for WiFi usage.
“WRC-23 has provided a clear roadmap for mobile services to continue to evolve and expand for the benefit of billions across the globe,” said John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA.
The WRC has also defined mobile use of more low-band spectrum in the 470-694 MHz band in EMEA. Low bands can help expand capacity for the internet
