Ofcom UK is not looking to harness lots of new spectrum for 6G mobile

Ofcom this week began a new consultation on the UK’s provisional views and positions for the next World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 (WRC-27), which among other things appeared to indicate that the regulator would, at least for now, only support the release of an extra 125MHz of spectrum in the 7GHz band (7125-7250MHz) for use by future mobile broadband networks (i.e. 6G).

The next WRC, which is due to be held in Shanghai (China) between 18th October and 12th November 2027, is essentially a global forum where decisions are made about how different radio spectrum bands should be used and allocated for different regions across the world. Modern regulators like to try and harmonise spectrum usage, which is a finite resource, as much as possible between countries for reasons of compatibility and efficiency etc.

According to the consultation document, WRC-27 includes an agenda item (1.7) that seeks to identify additional radio spectrum frequencies for more high-speed connectivity to Smartphones (mobile networks) in areas of high demand (IMT – International Mobile Telecommunications).

However, Ofcom said that, in line with the European regulatory position (CEPT), they “did not support this Agenda Item being included on the agenda for WRC-27 at WRC-23 and we remain unconvinced that a clear case for more spectrum has been made“. This despite the fact that if there’s one thing UK mobile operators like to do, it’s call for the release of more mid-band spectrum frequency!

The regulator’s view is that this issue is expected to be “contentious as the frequency ranges under consideration overlap spectrum used by existing military, space science and satellite uses“. The relevant spectrum sits in four different bands – 4.4GHz, 7GHz, 8GHz and 15GHz, but Ofcom only supports the proposal for the 7GHz band, due to the aforementioned conflicts.

The Relevant Spectrum Bands (Ofcom’s Consultation)

The focus of this agenda item on IMT is on frequency ranges for future network capacity requirements. The frequency ranges under consideration are:

a) 4400-4800 MHz (Region 1 and Region 3)

b) 7125-7250 MHz

c) 7250-8400 MHz (excluding the portion from 7250 to 7750 MHz in Region 1)

d) 14.8-15.35 GHz

Ofcom has already decided to make much of the frequency prior to 7125MHz available for Wi-Fi. For example, the Lower (5925 to 6425MHz) part of the 6GHz band is already available for Wi-Fi, while Ofcom are in the process of allowing both Wi-Fi and mobile networks to share access to the Upper (6425 to 7125MHz) part of that same band (here), although mobile services will be given priority to that bit.

Suffice to say that it would thus make sense for the regulator to close the gap, while keeping alignment with Europe, on the first part of the 7GHz band (7125-7250MHz). As usual in these cases it’s important not to confuse 6GHz with the 6th Generation (6G) of mobile technology, as we’re talking about both in this article and yes.. that can get confusing.

Ofcom’s consultation clearly makes reference to harnessing both the existing Upper 6GHz and proposed early 7GHz bands for future 6G based mobile networks.

Ofcom Statement on 7GHz

The 7125-7250 MHz band is under discussion in CEPT for potential support for an IMT identification. It is currently used in the UK for PMSE and for space research service applications, including uplinks from the Goonhilly earth station for deep space communications. Although transmissions from Goonhilly could cause interference on some narrow frequencies within this range, our view is that this should be manageable and the locations affected would not have a major impact on use of the spectrum for providing mobile network capacity where it is needed.

There is also consideration of the potential alignment between UK use of the upper 6 GHz band and the rest of Europe after the WRC that could be enabled by this identification. At a European level, the recent RSPG Opinion on the long-term vision for the upper 6 GHz band saw a WRC-27 identification of 7125-7250 MHz as the key to being able to make 160 MHz available for Wi-Fi at the lower end of the upper 6 GHz band, as we have already decided to do, while still being able to provide at least 600 MHz of new 6G spectrum.

Without the identification of 7125-7250 MHz to IMT, and if no significant new developments or insights suggest otherwise, RSPG would see a strong case for designating the 6425-6585 MHz band for primary mobile use.

Our July 2026 Statement on Expanding access to the 6 GHz band for commercial mobile and Wi-Fi services set out our decisions to make 6425-6585 MHz available for Wi-Fi without waiting for the outcome of WRC-27 and to implement a prioritised band split, with a mobile priority portion in 6585-7125 MHz. Identification of 7125-7250 MHz at WRC-27 would make it more likely that we get full alignment between the UK and Europe, and benefit from the wider device ecosystem, as well as providing a potential increase in mobile spectrum to cater for future capacity requirements.

The Statement indicates that in the event of European harmonisation of this spectrum for mobile services, we would then consider making at least part of the band available for mobile use, while also taking account of the needs of existing users, particularly PMSE applications such as wireless video cameras.

We should make clear that mobile operators could potentially also harness the extra spectrum for existing 5G networks too, if they wanted. But mobile operators and Ofcom always like to add extra spectrum whenever the next leap in mobile technology happens, partly to help it deliver the greatest benefits. But for now, it appears as if the above plan represents the most we can expect for 6G, at least in the near-term (excluding the fact that some existing mobile bands often end up being re-farmed into more modern services).

In any case the future 6G standard is currently still in the early Research and Development (R&D) phase, and most observers don’t expect to see the first commercial network builds surfacing until around 2030 (note: some countries do expect early field trials around 2028); 3GPP currently aim to complete the specs for 6G networks and terminals by 2029.

The next gen mobile technology is currently thought to be aiming for theoretical peak data rates of up to 1Tbps (Terabits per second) and may be able to harness radio spectrum up to the TeraHertz (THz) bands, while also using AI optimisations, new antenna designs and other changes to improve network efficiency. By comparison, 5G was designed to work between 450MHz and 52GHz, with top theoretical speeds of up to 20Gbps (Gigabits per second).

However, in practical terms, it’s worth remembering that the final 6G technology will almost certainly end up being constrained by the real-world restrictions of existing data capacity and spectrum availability, with most UK mobile operators preferring to harness more economically viable lower and mid-band spectrum between 700MHz and 4-7GHz.

Lest we forget that, yes, you can get faster data speeds from using even higher frequencies, but this also tends to make the signals very weak and offers poor coverage without making a uneconomic investment in network densification (the higher the frequency, the weaker your mobile signal). In short, we’d temper expectations for what 6G might actually deliver, at least initially.