(GSMA) - New GSMA report highlights importance of standard-power 6 GHz mobile networks for global digital economies as mobile data growth rises
High capacity 6 GHz spectrum must be licensed to mobile operators at sufficient, standard power levels to enable the full range of mobile use cases, indoors and outdoors, and provide maximum benefit for global digital economies.
70 per cent of mobile use is indoors, and overwhelmingly reliant on mid-band to deliver key use cases
This is the key takeaway from ‘Mobile Evolution in 6 GHz’, a report released today by the GSMA, which represents mobile network operators worldwide. It combines new research by GSMA Intelligence with the latest mobile usage analysis from Ookla to examine how spectrum assignment in the important 6.425-7.125 GHz band can impact regulators’ ability to support economic growth around the world. The report reveals that:
Following identification of the 6 GHz band for use by IMT (mobile) networks at the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) in Dubai, regulators and governments are considering the implementation of the decisions into national rules.
WRC-23 harmonised the power limits that mobile base stations can emit in the 6 GHz band. This was done to allow a global equipment ecosystem that supports affordability and digital inclusion through economies of scale.
The GSMA study results show that if regulators reduce these standard power limits through a desire to restrict mobile use to outdoors and theoretically increase indoor Wi-Fi spectrum, they will reduce the additional capacity 6 GHz provides for industry and consumers.
With reduced power, the economic benefits are lower than having a standard-power licensed band because mobile will become constrained by spectrum. Furthermore, given that the majority of mobile traffic originates indoors, there is no clear rationale for attempting to enforce an indoor/outdoor split of the band.
Luciana Camargos, Head of Spectrum at the GSMA said: “Today’s report shows that mobile operators will need to manage significant traffic growth in their networks during the next decade. The decisions made by regulators around spectrum allocation in the upper 6 GHz band will play a huge role in developing digital economies through the next phase of mobile evolution.
“A balanced approach that maximises unlicensed spectrum in the lower 6 GHz band with licensed, standard-power mobile in the upper 6 GHz band can avoid overly complex technical solutions and power restrictions which limit the effectiveness of mobile networks. Globally harmonised conditions will support affordability and digital inclusion, and develop the world’s digital economy.”
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