17 May 2021, London: The global future of 5G is at risk if governments fail to align on licensing 6 GHz spectrum, the GSMA said today.
The full speed and capabilities of 5G depend on the 6 GHz mid-band spectrum. Yet governments are already diverging: China will use the entire 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band for 5G. Europe has split the band, with the upper part considered for 5G, but a new 500 MHz tranche available for Wi-Fi. Africa and parts of the Middle East are taking a similar approach.
At the other extreme, the US and much of Latin America have declared that none of this valuable resource will be made available for 5G, but rather will be offered to Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies.