5GAA's Recent Lobbying Activities: Yet Another Indicator of the Importance of 6 GHz Spectrum for 5G

Consumer rollouts of 5G are well underway (more than 141 operators have launched commercial 5G services around the world), and the telco industry has begun to realize, that spectrum currently allocated for 5G is becoming a scarce resource. Almost all of these commercial deployments use C-band spectrum, so the need to consider alternative spectrum bands for future 5G rollouts grows (both in the consumer domain and, more importantly, the enterprise domain).

ABI Research sees increased lobbying activities both from industry organizations and the telco community for additional mid-band spectrum resources to be allocated to licensed technologies, mainly 5G. The center of attention in this context is the 6 Gigahertz (GHz) band.

From an enterprise vertical perspective, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is the most recent organization lobbying for the entire 6 GHz band to be allocated for 5G in its white paper A visionary roadmap for advanced driving use cases, connectivity technologies, and radio spectrum needs. From a telco industry point of view, there is consolidated effort from infrastructure vendors Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, and ZTE, as well as Communication Service Providers (CSPs), through industry associations like GSMA that argue for further spectrum resources on the 6 GHz band to be awarded to licensed technologies, specifically 5G.

To understand the interest in spectrum on the 6 GHz band for 5G, a few aspects need to be considered. The foundation for these considerations is formed based on the importance of mid-band spectrum (between 3 GHz and 10 GHz) for cellular network deployments.

Low-band spectrum (sub-3 GHz) offers great opportunities for wide area networks and distinct advantages when it comes to propagation characteristics of radio frequency signals. However, the supported low bandwidth would not be enough for enterprise use cases that require the transmission of large portions of data, required for certain use cases in the enterprise domain (e.g., transmission of video footage or the application of augmented or virtual reality data). While cellular deployments using Millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum would support high enough network capacity for data-intensive network traffic, the poor penetration characteristics will hinder using mmWave spectrum for indoor deployments, especially in the enterprise verticals domain, which are often characterized by a high prevalence of metal or comparable materials. From a business point of view, the device ecosystem for mmWave spectrum is just starting to develop and the commercial availability of compatible devices and modules is limited, which drives up the price.

Mid-band spectrum (between 3 GHz and 10 GHz), by contrast, offers the perfect combination of propagation characteristics and high enough network capacity, which can be achieved through the application of technologies like massive Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) or carrier aggregation. Spectrum on the C-Band (3.4 GHz to 4.2 GHz) has already been awarded almost completely to CSPs across the world. Spectrum is becoming a scarce resource and identifying additional spectrum bands becomes more and more important, which is why 6 GHz spectrum becomes increasingly interesting for the telco community as the next best option for cellular network deployments after the C-band.

Even though ABI Research sees an increasing number of CSPs already starting to refarm their licensed 3G spectrum, this will most likely not be sufficient, as 5G widens the target audience for cellular connectivity to include a great variety of enterprise verticals. Furthermore, refarming 4G spectrum should be considered cautiously by the telco industry: with 5G Release 16 frozen earlier this year, most enterprises deploying (private) cellular connectivity today will deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE), before the industrial device ecosystem for industrial 5G (compatible with R16) matures. The typical investment cycle in new technologies for enterprises lasts for several decades, so these enterprises will not be in a position to invest in 5G deployments in less than 10 years. Abruptly refarming 4G spectrum, therefore, would deter enterprises from deploying cellular connectivity, rather than advancing enterprise digitization.

Looking at current regulatory decisions regarding spectrum resources on this band, the picture reminds the reader more of a patchwork rug than anything else. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to award the complete 6 GHz band for use by unlicensed technologies (earlier in 2020). Similarly, the European Commission favors opening the 6 GHz band to unlicensed technologies, following a several years old spectrum allocation plan. In Asia-Pacific, the South Korean ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) launched its “5G+ spectrum plan” in November 2019, planning to make the entire 6 GHz band available for unlicensed use by 2022. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, regulator Office of Communications (Ofcom) is currently exploring options to open at least the lower 500 Megahertz (MHz) of the band for unlicensed technologies, while the Chinese regulator is actively looking into awarding 6 GHz spectrum to 5G.

While the call for an internationally coordinated spectrum strategy is nothing new, the current race toward 6 GHz is yet another example of the importance of consolidated spectrum regulations. In this concrete case, regulators across the globe need to take note of the fact that providing sufficient spectrum resources for licensed technologies will be of key importance to successful 5G deployments both in the consumer and enterprise vertical domains.

Spectrum on the C-band is almost completely allocated to CSPs (through public auction) or set aside for enterprises for local licensing, so mid-band spectrum for 5G deployment becomes a scarce resource and the need for alternatives becomes more and more important to ensure that enterprise digitization and consumer 5G deployments can go ahead as planned. The 6 GHz band is the next optimal choice after the C-band, so an internationally coordinated spectrum initiative should consider awarding at least part of the 6 GHz band to licensed technologies, such as 5G.

Accounting for the fact that 6 GHz is currently used by unlicensed technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi or other Wi-Fi-based technologies like Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) for connected vehicles), a short-term spectrum strategy needs to consider allocating the 6 GHz band for use by both licensed and unlicensed technologies. In the long run, however, coexistence between licensed and unlicensed technologies will not be optimal (for reasons that ABI Research’s report Unlicensed and Shared Spectrum for 5G: Implementation Scenarios, Industry Options and Business Models (AN-5094) describes further). Therefore, any regulation regarding the 6 GHz band needs to be responsive to market developments and might, in the long run, need to be reformulated in favor of either licensed or unlicensed technologies. This decision should only follow market developments (ex-post), instead of regulating the market prematurely (ex-ante).

Regulators need to understand that their role of ensuring the efficient use of radio frequency spectrum becomes more important as the scarcity of spectrum resources increases. By designing regulations that are responsive to market development, regulators can ensure optimal use of spectrum, which is becoming a scarce and, therefore, valuable resource. In order to guarantee internationally homogenous allocation of the additional frequency, national regulators, public bodies, and the telco industry need to consolidate their efforts at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) concerning who will decide about the allocation of the 6 GHz band.