The 2023 World Radio Conference (WRC-23) will take place in Dubai from November 20 to December 15, and one key agenda item is the consideration of the identification of the 6425-7025 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz frequency bands for either International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) or unlicensed Wi-Fi designation. As the conference approaches, there are a few key points for regulators and policymakers to keep in mind, including the current and expected demand for indoor wireless and the timelines associated with using the bands for 5G and 6G compared to Wi-Fi.
The global momentum around Wi-Fi cannot be overstated. According to IDC, there are 19.5 billion Wi-Fi devices around the world that carry the majority of wireless network data traffic. And this momentum has increased with each generation: Wi-Fi 6 reached 50% market adoption more quickly than previous Wi-Fi generations; the same report predicts that 473 million Wi-Fi 6E devices will ship in 2023; and now, Wi-Fi 7 is on the cusp of a market boom, with development and adoption expected to pick up significantly in 2024, particularly in the face of heightened user demand for higher reliability wireless broadband. Thanks to features like Multi-Link Operation, Wi-Fi 7 will deliver deterministic low latency for wireless broadband in a way that previous generations have not.
“This momentum is based on having the 1.2 GHz of spectrum that the 6 GHz band provides,” Broadcom’s Director of Product Marketing Chris Szymanski told RCR Wireless News, adding therefore, that an IMT identification threatens to stall the growth of this much-need technology in many global markets. The 6 GHz band introduces a new level of capacity and reliability that 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz cannot provide, making it absolutely critical for the future of Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-supported applications.
Because the vast majority of network traffic occurs indoors, Wi-Fi offers the best option for connectivity most of the time. Further, Wi-Fi is already supported on nearly every device, while cellular connectivity is primarily limited to smartphones. With the addition of 6 GHz, Wi-Fi becomes even more powerful as it can support future, bandwidth-intensive use cases like enhanced broadband and AR/VR applications.
And for those limited indoor use cases that truly require the ultra-reliability of cellular, there already exist several options including small cells, distributed radios, neutral-host networks and private 5G networks. Therefore, while companies working to secure end-to-end broadband for homes and businesses like Broadcom acknowledge that cellular will eventually need additional spectrum, the industry overwhelmingly feels that today’s spectrum is sufficient to address current use cases in most mobile scenarios.
In contrast, enhanced Wi-Fi is not only needed right now, but is also ready to hit the ground running. “The ask for an IMT identification is not timely,” said Szymanski. “You would have major markets that would have deployed three generations of Wi-Fi before your very first IMT deployment.” In other words, 6 GHz-based Wi-Fi is ready for deployment and use today, while enabling indoor 5G and 6G with 6 GHz would take between seven to 10 years.
Recognizing this risk, Apple issued a formal statement declaring that it sees “a significant difference in deployment timescales” between IMT and Wi-Fi for the considered bands. “Certified Wi-Fi 6E equipment for the full 6 GHz band (5925-7125 MHz) is shipping today… for the USA market and others where regulations are established, and it is unclear when IMT will be available,” stated the company. “We recommend that Wi-Fi should not be constrained by any protracted IMT timelines.”
In another filing, Amazon, HPE and Meta jointly declared 6 GHz “not a suitable band for IMT” and that if such a designation were given, “it is likely to be only sparsely used in very specific locations.” In contrast, 6 GHz Wi-Fi is already available in several major markets.
An IMT identification for the 6425-7025 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz frequency bands would hinder Wi-Fi’s growth — and therefore the benefits it’s capable of delivering today for users — and for not much gain as it will as much as 10 years before 5G or 6G are regularly making use of 6 GHz spectrum.
