The Global System for Mobile Communications Association has warned that delays in decisions on the 6GHz spectrum band are slowing the deployment of critical mobile network infrastructure as the world moves from 5G towards early 6G technologies.

GSMA Director-General, Vivek Badrinath, issued the warning on Monday as the global mobile industry urged governments and regulators to establish clearer spectrum roadmaps and make the 6GHz band available for full-power mobile services.

Badrinath said timely spectrum decisions would provide mobile operators with the certainty needed to invest in network expansion and boost capacity amid continued growth in global mobile data traffic.

The GSMA said the mobile ecosystem is prepared to deploy services across the upper 6GHz band at scale, but stressed that governments must provide the regulatory certainty needed to unlock investment in future network infrastructure.

“The message from the mobile ecosystem is clear: we are ready to put the upper 6 GHz spectrum to work for consumers and businesses around the world,” Badrinath said.

He urged governments to turn the international harmonisation of the band into improved connectivity by prioritising the upper 6GHz spectrum for full-power mobile services.

According to him, timely and investment-friendly spectrum policies would provide operators with greater certainty to expand their networks while helping countries advance their digital ambitions.

“Timely, pro-investment spectrum decisions are needed to give operators the certainty to invest, to help countries deliver their national digital ambitions,” he said.

The upper 6GHz band, spanning 6.425 GHz to 7.125 GHz, is considered valuable mid-band spectrum because of its ability to provide additional capacity for mobile networks.

The GSMA said the band can deliver city-wide capacity when deployed by full-power macro-cell mobile networks, enabling operators to meet rising data traffic and growing customer demand.

The additional spectrum is also expected to support the evolution of 5G-Advanced and pave the way for the eventual deployment of 6G networks.

Badrinath said 6G networks are expected to require channel bandwidths of between 200 MHz and 400 MHz, underscoring the importance of the upper 6GHz band to the development of next-generation mobile networks.

“Upper 6 GHz represents one of the most important opportunities to secure the capacity needed for the next-generation of mobile networks, creating a clear path from 5G-Advanced to 6G,” he said.

The GSMA said countries representing more than 80 per cent of the global population now support the use of the upper 6GHz band for mobile services.