Do ITU Radio Regulations Matter? China allocates 6 GHz spectrum for 5G and 6G services prior to WRC 23; CTIA objects!
China’s regulators allocated spectrum in the 6 GHz frequency band for 5G and 6G services, asserting it was the first country to reserve the resource expected by the mobile industry to enable future connectivity. In a translated statement, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) highlighted the band was the only one with sufficiently-large bandwidth in the mid-range frequency band.
In a blog published on the opening day of MWC 2023 Shanghai, GSMA head of spectrum Luciana Camargos highlighted China had identified the upper part of the band for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) systems:
“China’s efforts towards the 6GHz band don’t come as a surprise,” Camargos wrote, adding. “Conducive spectrum policies for the mid-bands, especially the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz, have helped China to deploy the world’s largest 5G networks with over 2.7 million 5G base stations by the end of April 2023 and to be on track to become the first country to reach 1 billion 5G connections in 2025.”
Note: The GSMA has been pushing the case for the use of 6 GHz by the mobile industry ahead of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (IRC 23) in Dubai, UAE in November 2023. WRC 19 did not authorize use of the 6 GHz band for IMT and so it is not in ITU-R M.1036 revision 6 “Frequency arrangements for implementation of the terrestrial component of International Mobile Telecommunications in the bands identified for IMT in the Radio Regulations” which specifies all terrestrial IMT frequencies.
During the Ajit Pai administration, the FCC allocated virtually the entire 6 GHz band – 1,200 megahertz stretching across 5.925 GHz–7.125 GHz – for unlicensed uses, primarily Wi-Fi rather than IMT which uses licensed spectrum.
–>Please refer to References below.
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The CTIA was alarmed by China’s decision and posted this on Twitter:
BREAKING NEWS: China announces plans to free up far more #5G spectrum than the United States. Congress must restore @FCC auction authority and identify new spectrum to secure our leadership of the industries and innovations of the future.
“We risk having Chinese networks that are materially better at enabling the industries of the future,” wrote Doug Brake, a policy official at CTIA, the U.S. wireless industry’s main trade association. “If a mobile video platform like TikTok is a national security threat, why should we surrender advantage in a technology like 5G that enables transformation throughout the economy?”
“We need a breakthrough on spectrum policy that prioritizes full-power, licensed, midband spectrum for 5G to secure our industries of the future in the face of increasingly capable Chinese networks and the market dominance of Chinese vendors. This requires a coordinated effort, starting with Congress establishing an auction pipeline, NTIA identifying at least 1500 megahertz of licensed midband spectrum for 5G as part of the National Spectrum Strategy,” Brake wrote.
The NTIA plans to release a U.S. spectrum strategy this November.
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A number of countries in North and South America, and in Asia, have already allocated the 6GHz band for unlicensed uses, according to Dean Bubley of Disruptive Analysis.
Others countries haven’t yet decided what to do with the band. For example, officials in the UK just this week opened an investigation into the possibility of sharing the 6GHz band between Wi-Fi and 5G users.
“Rather than choosing between the two, we believe an alternative approach is possible. We are exploring options that would enable the use of both Wi-Fi and mobile in the band. We are calling this ‘hybrid sharing,'” wrote regulator Ofcom in a post.
According to Disruptive Wireless analyst Bubley, Ofcom’s proposal isn’t that simple. “This would need new technical mechanisms for networks, devices and databases / sensing, and how to manage and enforce any prioritisations,” he wrote in a new LinkedIn post. “There are various options for automation, dynamic vs. fixed sharing and so on. There may be constraints on power or ‘polite’ protocols. Ideally these would be internationally standardized – perhaps just in Europe, but more broad adoption would obviously be preferable.”
Meanwhile, others continue to urge global regulators to allocate the 6GHz band for 5G. For example, the GSMA – the world’s biggest 5G trade association – recently reiterated its position that 6GHz will be necessary for 5G networks to keep pace with demand.
According to Bubley, the debate will likely come to a head later this year at the ITU-R’s 2023 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). That’s where global telecom regulators work to harmonize their plans in order to score global economies of scale among equipment suppliers. The result is a set of Radio Regulations which are approved frequencies to be used for IMT and other wireless services.
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References:
6 GHz band proposed for WiFi/5G in Asia Pacific region, but it’s not in ITU-R M.1036
CTIA commissioned study: U.S. running out of licensed spectrum; 5G FWA to be impacted first by network overloads
GMSA vs ITU-R, FCC & U.S. Tech Companies on use of 6GHz band: Licensed 5G or Unlicensed WiFi?
Broadcom, Cisco and Facebook Launch TIP Group for open source software on 6 GHz Wi-Fi
FCC to open up 6 GHz band for unlicensed use – boon for WiFi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax)
FCC to vote April 23rd to open up 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for WiFi
U.S. Launches National Spectrum Strategy and Industry Reacts
WiFi doesn’t need to use the 6 Ghz band. In uncrowded places 2.4Ghz + 5Ghz is enough.
In densely populated places 2.4 Ghz + 5 Ghz are not suitable. In that case, WiFi needs to use a higher frequency, perhaps 10 Ghz or 15 Ghz. However, such high frequencies can not penetrate walls.
High-frequency waves have shorter wavelengths; low-frequency waves have longer wavelengths. So why does low-frequency waves travel through walls? The wavelength of the wave is the answer. Low-frequency waves are much longer than the atoms in the wall which makes them permit such waves to pass through.
6 GHz Band for 5G Advancements in India according to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI):
With a greater demand for capacity, speeds, and coverage, there is a need for a greater amount of spectrum in the apt band suitable for deploying technologies. Echoing a similar perspective, COAI highlighted that the allocation of the 6 GHz spectrum band holds great importance for enhancing the quality and coverage of the mobile network in India. Allocating the full 6 GHz band to 5G communications is a move to address the escalating demand for data services across the country, said the Industry Body.
“This decision not only aligns with the rapid growth of data consumption but also positions 5G as a pivotal technology for wide-area applications, including drones, telemedicine, and smart cities. Given that 5G is faster and can handle more data than Wi-Fi, allocating the 6 GHz band is essential to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure for future advancements. The historic agreement reached at the recent World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 held in Dubai, to open this spectrum band for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), vindicates the global acknowledgement of the demand by Indian TSPs to allocate this potent band for vital use in 5G, 5G Advanced, and the future 6G,” said COAI.
https://telecomtalk.info/coai-highlights-2023year-end-perspective-indian-telecom/909534/