By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
We’ve followed and advocated for Ofcom’s 6 GHz plans for a long time – including here and here – and then yesterday Ofcom formally approved a new and innovative framework for sharing the upper 6 GHz band between Wi-Fi and future mobile use. Ofcom also approved outdoor standard power Wi-Fi with AFC for the lower 6 GHz band. The decision could serve as a model for what could also effectively be implemented for the rest of Europe and indeed the world in order to accommodate Wi-Fi today and 6G mobile some time in the future.
As of yesterday, UK regulator Ofcom has approved a framework for sharing the upper 6 GHz band in the following way: A Wi-Fi priority portion is defined in the lower 160 MHz of the band (6425–6585 MHz) while the upper 540 MHz of the band (6585–7125 MHz) will be defined for mobile priority. Ofcom also approved standard power Wi-Fi operation in the lower 6 GHz band with AFC.
Ofcom summarises the framework as follows: “We are making the Wi-Fi priority portion of the band available on the same licence exempt basis as the lower 6 GHz band. This includes low power indoor use and very low power use. Outdoor and higher power use is also permitted, but only where devices operate under the control of an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system. We are also allowing licence exempt Wi-Fi access to the mobile priority portion – but only for those devices under the control of an AFC system. This will enable Wi-Fi use of the full 6 GHz band while ensuring that such use can be managed as mobile deployment occurs.” The full statements and process documents can be found here.
WiFi NOW’s take: The decision is a huge win for Wi-Fi and can be viewed as an evolution of the FCC’s rules on 6 GHz spectrum sharing with AFC. Ofcom’s innovation is the use of the priority concept that will accommodate prospective future (but still speculative) use of the parts of the upper 6 GHz band for 6G mobile. The decision demonstrates that Wi-Fi deployment today and future 6G mobile services can coexist within the same 6 GHz spectrum framework without requiring an exclusive allocation.
For more details also see our resources on policy & regulation here and AFC here in the WiFi NOW Resource Centre.
/Claus.
