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On 7 May 2025, a group of 11 major European telecom operators signed a letter asking policymakers to make available the complete upper 6-GHz band for future 6G mobile networks. They consider this band to be a critical opportunity for launching 6G in Europe. The letter was signed by executives from A1 Telekom Austria, BT, Deutsche Telekom, KPN, Elisa, Orange, Telefonica, Telia Company, TIM, United Group, and Vodafone.
The signatories are concerned that access to this band is still sought for Wi-Fi despite the recent availability of a new but widely unused block of 480 MHz in the lower 6-GHz band. Even if they are the primary Wi-Fi providers to European consumers and businesses, they do not see any spectrum shortfall for this system.
In contrast, they consider that the 6-GHz band is expected to play a significant role in supporting the deployment of next-generation 6G services in Europe. The whole of the upper 6-GHz band would be required for even the first 6G implementations.
Since this band is designed to operate with 200-MHz carriers, provisioning fewer than 600 MHz for mobile would constitute an important limitation for 6G. They claim that “Using the full upper 6-GHz band for full-power macrocell mobile deployments is the only way that Europe can ensure its digital connectivity going into the 2030s.”
Full Article: IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, Volume 20, Number 3, September 2025
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