Mobile operators appear to have benefitted well from spectrum allocation at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) in Dubai which concluded Friday, heading home with new swathes of spectrum in the low- and mid-band range.

A new band – the 6GHz band – was earmarked for mobile use across every ITU region, which include EMEA, the Americas and Asia Pacific. According to GSMA, more than 60 per cent of the world’s population asked to be included in the identification of 6GHz for licenced mobile use at the conference.

GSMA noted the “6GHz spectrum is now the harmonised home for the expansion of mobile capacity for 5G-Advanced and beyond”.

On average, GSMA stated 2GHz of mid-spectrum per market will be needed by 2030 to meet the increased demand by consumers and businesses around the world. It identified 6GHz as the sole remaining mid-band spectrum available to respond to data traffic growth in the 5G-Advanced era.

Meanwhile final harmonisation of the 3.5GHz band, which was the pioneer band for 5G deployments and is already assigned in more than 80 countries, was achieved across EMEA and the Americas.

“Further harmonisation of the 3.5GHz range at WRC-23 will allow more countries to take advantage of economies of scale in the mobile ecosystem and benefit from higher speeds provided by wide spectrum channels in this range,” according to GSMA.

Low-band
Conference attendees also identified a roadmap to improve digital equality by defining mobile use of additional low-band spectrum in the 470MHz to 694MHz band in EMEA, particularly in rural areas.

The WRC-23 conference was held under the auspices of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations agency that oversees communication technologies.

The event runs every four years and this year attracted almost 4,000 delegates.