ITU agrees 6G frequencies in Europe, looks to 8GHz band
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The ITU has agreed to identify the upper 6 GHz spectrum for next generation wireless in Europe, RCC, ASMG and Africa regions, in addition to other countries in Latin America and Asia.
The ITU, which agrees global frequency allocations, will set up a study group for the 7-8.5 GHz range for 6G in time for the next ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in 2027. The global agreement at this year’s WRC-23, which finished today, paves the way for 6G from 2030 onwards.
Technical work now starts to determine the sharing and compatibility of 6G with those frequency bands. This will drive development of next generation wireless standards and chipsets.
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The agreement was welcomed by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) which has over 80 member companies and a Spectrum Group with 185 spectrum and regulatory affairs specialists.
“The global agreement reached by ITU represents a significant milestone not just in the continued growth of 5G and 5G-Advanced connectivity, but also in the path to 6G,” said Joe Barrett, President of GSA.
“The entire global mobile ecosystem can now innovate with confidence and a clear sense of the spectrum requirements for 6G, both in terms of its future availability and compatibility with other users of the spectrum.”
The details of the 6G framework agreed at WRC-23 in Dubai are contained in Recommendation ITU-R M.2160 and the ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) will now focus on defining technical requirements and the evaluation criteria for potential 6G radio interface technologies.
“Mobile communications are central to our efforts to ensure that everyone is meaningfully connected,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General. “By agreeing on a way forward on 6G, ITU Member States have taken an important step toward ensuring that technical progress is synonymous with affordability, security, and resilience — supporting sustainable development and digital transformation everywhere.”
For the next phase of development, companies and industry associations will submit proposals for the IMT-2030 Radio Interface Technology (RIT) for ITU-R consideration in early 2027 for a final set of 6G technology standards to be approved by 2030.
The IMT-2030 Framework Recommendation identifies 15 capabilities with nine derived from existing 5G systems.
Expected uses for 6G include immersive communication, hyper-reliable and low-latency communication for intelligent industrial applications including telemedicine and management of energy and power grids and enhanced ubiquitous connectivity, especially in rural, remote and sparsely populated areas with the aim of bridging the digital divide.
This will also have to support expanded use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and applications in smart cities, intelligent transport systems and sectors such as health, agriculture, energy and environmental monitoring as well as artificial intelligence (AI). There will also be more complex sensing to improve assisted navigation, and high-precision positioning including object and presence detection, localization, imaging and mapping.
More information on the 6G framework is on the IMT-2030 website.
www.itu.int/wrc-23/; www.gsacom.com.
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