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.

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 reportreveals that:

• 70% of mobile use today takes place indoors, and 85% of that total uses the ‘mid-band’ spectrum which supports high-bandwidth data streaming. This crucial band enables a huge range of potential industrial and commercial use cases which are reliant on high-capacity networks with low latency.
• Global mobile traffic growth in 2023 was the largest of any year to date. The 2023 increase alone was greater than the absolute traffic level five years earlier in 2018. Looking ahead, the growth in traffic per mobile connection between 2023-2030 is expected to be around 2-4 times greater than in the previous seven years, depending on the region.
• Unlicensed spectrum can be used more efficiently as users move up the technology curve. Data gathered by Ookla shows that between 22% and 78% of Wi-Fi usage was on legacy Wi-Fi 4 technology, while the lower 6 GHz band was hardly utilised for Wi-Fi 6E in countries where it is available.
• Policymakers should avoid assigning spectrum to compensate for inefficient unlicensed use. Prioritising migration to Wi-Fi 6 would thus be the most efficient way of maximising the impact of Wi-Fi without constraining licensed spectrum in 6 GHz.

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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About GSMA

The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today’s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world’s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

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