April 2025 marks the 5-year anniversary of the FCC’s release of the 6 GHz spectrum band for unlicensed use. It is already widely used by Wi-Fi and other technologies in the US and several international markets, while some regions are still considering its future role.
This seems to be an appropriate point in time to step back, assess what has happened with 6 GHz so far, consider the likely trajectory over the next few years, and also compare the US experience to what has happened elsewhere around the world.
It is also important to reiterate the value and importance of unlicensed access to the whole 1200 MHz band, especially as new devices and applications rely on wider channels for maximum performance. While debates continue in the US and other countries on how to release more spectrum to the marketplace, policymakers should avoid disruption to the 6 GHz band. They should recognise the significant investments made to leverage this spectrum for unlicensed use, alongside the growing demand for Wi-Fi. The utility and value of access to the entire band is already huge and increasing continually.
The 6 GHz timeline
The FCC’s April 2020 adoption of a Report and Order on 6 GHz came about 18 months after the initial 2018 proposal (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or NPRM) with initial background work being done as far back as 2016. The rules became effective a few months later, in July 2020.
Almost immediately after the regulations solidified, work began on creating, designing and deploying devices and access points capable of using the 6 GHz band, initially as Wi-Fi 6E, and subsequently Wi-Fi 7. Specifically, the full band runs between 5.925-7.125 GHz, yielding 1200 megahertz of spectrum, especially for low-power indoor (LPI) use. The first shipments of equipment capable of using the 6 GHz band occurred around the end of 2020, and have been accelerating swiftly ever since
The initial 6 GHz commercial focus was on the high-end consumer market and leading-edge enterprise deployments, but that has subsequently broadened to mainstream residential, public venue and general business settings. A growing set of ISPs now bundle Wi-Fi 7 routers or gateways with their gigabit-grade broadband services.
For a memorable data point, consider that there are likely to be over a billion 6 GHz-capable devices (projection based on reported 2024 data from IDC and 6 GHz analysis from ABI Research) such as smartphones, laptops and VR/AR headsets being shipped worldwide during 2025, plus perhaps 200 million access points (APs) and gateways supporting the band. For the US alone, those figures are roughly 150 million and 40 million respectively. By 2027, almost all top- and mid-tier smartphones in the US will ship with 6 GHz support, as well as a growing range of other consumer and IoT devices.
While the initial focus was on 6 GHz LPI for residential and enterprise use, two other options have also been pursued.
Standard-power devices, including those for outdoor use, can be used in two sub-bands of the 6 GHz range. These are linked to a dynamic spectrum database called an AFC (automatic frequency coordinator), to avoid creating interference to remaining incumbent users — notably fixed microwave links and some satellite assets. There is also interest in using standard-power indoors, to improve coverage and through-the-wall performance.
There is another ongoing effort to standardize and regulate very low-power (VLP) 6 GHz products for indoor and outdoor use, without worrying about incumbents nearby. The primary use would be connecting devices to nearby accessories, for example wearables and headphones, or for clusters of IoT products such as sensors.
Wi-Fi is not the only technology that can use the unlicensed 6 GHz band — a new version of Bluetooth Low Energy is being developed to exploit the same frequency range and coexist with Wi-Fi. There are also proprietary point-to-point wireless systems intended for fixed outdoor 6 GHz use in conjunction with AFC systems.
The benefits of 6 GHz and Wi-Fi 7 — and the role of wide channels
Wi-Fi 6E first added the 6 GHz band to the existing version 6 standard, but it was the newer version 7 which was designed ground-up with the extra spectrum in mind. That has pushed forward what is possible – the industry emphasis with Wi-Fi 7 has shifted significantly.
There is now much more focus on demanding applications requiring wide channels with 160 or 320 megahertz of spectrum, dense multi-device robustness and critical use cases such as robotics, AR/VR or working from home. While theoretical maximum throughput speeds have increased, the main focus is on real-world performance and mitigation of interference.
Maximum channel width and multiple “non-overlapping” channels are key criteria here.
Most traditional Wi-Fi deployments in homes and enterprises use narrow 20 MHz or 40 MHz channels. These have only limited capacity. Wi-Fi 7 running in the 6 GHz band allows creation and use of much wider 160 megahertz or 320 megahertz channels. These yield maximum data rates that can be 5 Gbps or even higher, while also supporting much lower latency, and the ability to do highly accurate position sensing.
Wide channels are important for optimal use by high-resolution video cameras and displays, immersive devices such as VR headsets, or a growing range of industrial control and automation systems, as well as fixed and mobile robots.
Critically, it is not sufficient to have enough spectrum for just a single wide channel. There needs to be enough total spectrum for multiple 160/320MHz channels to be used by neighbouring APs, without creating interference. Think about a multi-floor office building or apartment block, or an open-plan factory.
Good Wi-Fi design, for reliable connectivity, usually needs at least three and sometimes as many as nine “non-overlapping” channels. For a good visual depiction of the differences between partial availability of 6 GHz, compared to the full 1200 MHz band, this video demonstrates the impact on a typical real-world deployment of Wi-Fi in a building such as a university.
In other words, sufficient spectrum is a fundamental ingredient for these new and evolving applications in both home and enterprise settings, with the full 6 GHz band playing a central role, as it can support 3x 320MHz or 7x 160MHz channels. There may also be older Wi-Fi devices in use in the same location, especially in residential settings, so the new wide channels need to avoid conflicts with them.
Other key aspects of 6 GHz-based Wi-Fi 7 include:
- Multi-user connections: the 6 GHz band allows hundreds of devices to be supported concurrently on each AP, providing robust support for intensive Wi-Fi environments such as factories, airports and sports venues.
- Multi-link operation (MLO): The 6 GHz band can be blended with the traditional 2.4GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands, to improve reliability, mobility support and reduce real-world latency.
- Deterministic latency: Wi-Fi 7 enables systems to support time-sensitive (or deterministic) latency, with 6 GHz spectrum a key enabler. The main applications are in industrial settings, for instance in taking regular sensor readings, or allowing multiple moving machines or robots to work in close proximity without collision.
In home broadband, there is a growing alignment of 6 GHz-based Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 with high-end ISP bundles offering gigabit speeds or higher. While it is still debatable how many individual devices or applications really need symmetric 1G or 2G+ access in the next few years, ISPs can be certain that some customers who purchase top-end services will also use some sort of speed-test to check it works as advertised.
The international 6 GHz landscape
Looking beyond the US market, the global adoption of 6 GHz for wireless use has followed a number of different trajectories. Various organizations such as the Wi-Fi Alliance track developments on an ongoing basis.
- Similar approach to the US: A number of important markets have followed a similar path, releasing the full 1200MHz of spectrum for unlicensed use at low power levels. Canada, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Colombia are some of these. A number are also investigating the potential for higher power use with the aid of an AFC database – with Canada already permitting this.
- Start with the lower part of the band, decide on the upper 6 GHz later: The next most common approach has been for regulators to release the lower 6 GHz band (about 500MHz) for low-power unlicensed use, and then engage in a longer process of analysis and debate about the remaining 700MHz and its allocation for Wi-Fi and/or licensed cellular. Most European countries, Japan and Australia have taken this path. In the UK, Ofcom has recently suggested a two-phase approach to the upper 6GHz, allowing LPI immediately and then addressing a complex “hybrid sharing” concept subsequently.
- Focus 6 GHz on cellular 5G/6G use cases: China intends to release the band for licensed cellular use, rather than unlicensed for Wi-Fi or other technologies. However, thus far its plans have not yet been realised – and only Hong Kong has (partly) allocated the band so far, with a recent auction that demonstrated lackluster valuations and lukewarm enthusiasm.
- No decision: Markets such as India, and many in Africa and elsewhere are still assessing the options.
While the vitriolic debates about 5G/6G vs. Wi-Fi continue to soak up regulators’ and lobbyists’ time around the world, certain aspects seem clear. Any use of the band for high-power cellular deployments will take a long time to be realised, and will in any case be confined to specific areas rather than nationwide deployments. Outdoor-to-indoor penetration will be extremely poor. Equipment is not yet available, either for the main macro network or dedicated in-building systems.
This means that any theoretical economic benefits for 5G/6G need to be calculated with several years’ worth of discounts and scaled appropriately for very-limited coverage areas. This suggests the HK auction results were not an anomaly — this band will struggle to deliver either much useful cellular capacity or significant auction revenue compared to lower-midband releases. Many existing economic analyses of 6 GHz 5G seem inflated and based on unrealistic assumptions.
Summary and conclusion
6 GHz Wi-Fi is already gaining traction around the world. By the time that 6 GHz-capable cellular devices and networks start shipping in bulk in China and aligned markets, there will be billions of Wi-Fi 7 products already in users’ hands, homes or factories in the US and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, mobile data traffic is flattening almost everywhere, which suggests additional capacity is not even needed, even if 6 GHz spectrum is made available to network operators. They may eventually be able to create new 6G solutions in the 6 GHz band in the 2030s, but it cannot create immediate economic, employment or consumer benefits comparable to those estimated for 6GHz Wi-Fi.
The US and several other countries have taken an early lead in enhancing their indoor wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and support of the full 1200 MHz band. Outdoor and other use cases are starting to emerge as well, together with additional technologies such as 6 GHz Bluetooth on the horizon. There are even arguments that suggest the 7 GHz band might add further value for unlicensed use, while coexisting with important incumbent users such as defense systems.
The first five years of 6 GHz have seen rapid adoption and the creation of significant value and opportunity, despite a mature Wi-Fi market. The next five years should see increased innovation, as new use-cases leverage the wider 160/320MHz channels and enhanced latency and reliability it offers.
