By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Has the process of spectrum regulation in Europe finally lost its last semblance of legitimacy? Last week the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) – supposedly an independent panel of experts advising the European Commission on spectrum issues – came to the conclusion that the upper 6 GHz band should be reserved for IMT (mobile) services in Europe and not Wi-Fi. The recommendation is nothing short of scandalous and will – if carried through – result in the biggest spectrum blunder in EU history.
Imagine reserving a large swath of spectrum for a mobile technology that is as yet undefined (yes, the 6G people still don’t really know what 6G is supposed to be about) and unlikely to exist for at least another handful years. Then imagine reserving this spectrum for trying to beam connectivity services into buildings – which it does exceedingly poorly. Now finally imagine that the beneficiaries of this spectrum are suffering from a significant reduction in popular demand for their services. These are just a few of the gigantic problems related to the EU’s latest conclusion as to how the top 6 GHz band should be allocated.
But before we go there, let’s set the record straight: The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) is an advisory body, which means their recommendation is not law. This also means that all hope is not lost. Now is the time to forcefully oppose this grievous misallocation of spectrum, which above all demonstrates that the European mobile industry is exceedingly powerful (and still has deep pockets) when it comes to capturing EU politicians and bureaucrats.
Meanwhile, the European mobile industry is a slowly sinking ship with data traffic growth rates receding at a pace of 5% a year with nothing to indicate a reversal any time soon (read more here). The industry is desperately searching for something that future 6G networks can be used for – and our best bet is that 6G will be similar to the 5G debacle except worse in terms of new, meaningful services that drive ARPUs up instead of simply costing operators billions.
What we also know for a fact is that very large European broadband service providers as well as utilities – in particular in Germany – have forcefully voiced their support for allocation the top of the 6 GHz to Wi-Fi. And we know – via third parties and even though the 6 GHz consultation was not public – that the overwhelming majority of responses likely favoured Wi-Fi. Why was the consultation not public? The RSPG and European Commissions owes us some answers. This is not transparent governance.
And finally for the physics: In Europe (like nearly everywhere) more than 90% of mobile traffic is consumed indoors, which means that IMT signals need to somehow penetrate buildings – which is precisely what the upper 6 GHz band does exceedingly poorly. That alone should be enough to disqualify this band from any mobile use case. In conclusion what we have here is a recommendation that suggests that European consumers and business should firstly wait for Godot – meaning reserve the spectrum for future use that nobody really knows how will work or whether it will work at all – and secondly forfeit the immediate opportunity for significant productivity gains by allocating the top 6 GHz to Wi-Fi.
We can only speculate that the mobile industry knows very well that the upper 6 GHz band is largely useless for mobile – and that the real tactic here is to keep the spectrum away from its rightful place, which is Wi-Fi. Yes, they really are that cynical.
Finally, let’s just for good measure repeat a few of the main arguments for full-band 6 GHz Wi-Fi: The ecosystem is real, it exists, it is operating in large parts of the world, and it is ready today. Europe can become part of it immediately. Wi-Fi doesn’t need to beam through outer walls to deliver multiple gigabits of connectivity services to consumers, education, work-from-home, businesses, industry, you name it. Wi-Fi expends less energy and is much, much faster than anything mobile can produce. It is also vastly more cost-effective, which means benefits to every stakeholder segment are immediate and tangible. And it is the perfect companion to fibre. Indeed, without the top 6 GHz band allocated to Wi-Fi, the EU’s lofty gigabit everywhere ambitions may not be reachable at all.
The time is now to end this misallocation of spectrum. Talk to your European representative now. Reference this article to avoid a big, costly mistake that will set Europe back decades.
/Claus.
