CITEL Endorsed U.S. Position on Unlicensed Use of 6 GHz Band, but Questions Remain

The Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) meeting last week endorsed the U.S. position for the upper 6 GHz band, approving “no change” to allow international mobile telecommunications (IMT) in the band at the upcoming World Radio Communication conference, industry officials said. But a few nations sided with China's position of China, which the U.S. opposes, to approve a future agenda item on the topic at the WRC in 2027.

Delegates met in Ottawa, Canada, last week for the last big prep meeting for the Americas region before WRC, which starts Nov. 20 in Dubai. The upper 6 GHz band is expected to be hotly contested, with France in particular urging use of the spectrum for IMT, officials said. The FCC allocated the entire 6 GHz band for unlicensed use in 2020 (see 2004230059).

Brazil and Mexico supported further study of the upper 6 GHz band at WRC-27. Brazil took that position even though it already approved Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band all the way up to 7.125 GHz.

Industry experts told us they expect a contentious WRC on the item. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is expected to seek a vote on an order approving part of the proposals in the April 2020 Further NPRM, permitting very-low-power devices to operate on the 6 GHz band indoors without automated frequency control (see 2308070060), likely in October. Less certain is a vote increasing the power at which low-power indoor access points may operate.

“We appreciate that the FCC is being very careful to balance the enormous value of enabling next generation Wi-Fi with protecting incumbents,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Our consumer coalition has been emphasizing the importance of making sure that, like Wi-Fi today, the rules for the very low-power devices that make augmented reality and other innovations possible should facilitate mass markets at low cost so that we do not inadvertently create a new Wi-Fi digital divide,” he said.

“WifiForward applauds CITEL’s endorsement of the U.S. position for the upper 6 GHz band,” a spokesperson for the group emailed. “The U.S. designation of this band for unlicensed use is part of a comprehensive spectrum strategy that allows for all types of technologies to thrive.” If implemented worldwide, “China’s heavy-handed spectrum policy would favor Chinese state-backed entities like Huawei and ZTE -- something the U.S. should firmly stand against,” the spokesperson said: “Ahead of WRC, WifiForward urges continued support of unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band, which will promote greater innovation, advance future generations of Wi-Fi, and benefit mobile carriers by augmenting capacity.” The group urged the FCC to complete work on the 6 GHz order.

The U.S. wants to make its standards “the international norm,” said Jeff Westling, American Action Forum technology and innovation policy director. Countries want more mid-band 5G allocations, “and the U.S. not only lacks a pipeline for these frequencies but also the authority to even auction spectrum licenses,” he said.

Without a more concrete plan from the U.S., the ITU will likely shift more toward China's strategy and explore the use of upper 6 GHz for 5G, giving Chinese firms “an advantage over international rivals,” Westling said: “The decision to hold firm on 6 GHz makes sense, but the United States will need to develop a robust spectrum strategy to get our allies on board and head off the advancements from China."

“China is trying to position its spectrum frameworks as the model” for the world, emailed Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer. But China’s models “aren’t the same as the U.S.’s and are often thought, even by China’s own standard, as an inefficient way of doing things as compared to the U.S.’s approach,” he said. China’s still has difficulties with its handoffs between its 5G and 4G networks and it doesn’t seem they have resolved that, so China faces an “uphill battle” when it claims it has a better way of managing spectrum, he said.

When the U.S. decided to open 6 GHz spectrum for unlicensed use, “it was attempting to increase the amount of stakeholders to ensure a more competitive environment in wireless,” Thayer said. China cares only about helping the companies it controls, he said: “China just doesn’t come at deployment with the same first principles as us. Hence, China’s and U.S.’s strategies are apples and oranges.”