Major global communications companies, including Ericsson and Nokia, have placed mid-band spectrum, particularly in the 7-20 GHz range, at the center of their pitches for future 6G networks. Within the 7-20 GHz range, the FCC should first act on the 12.2-12.7 GHz proceeding, because:
- The record is complete; substantial engineering, economic, and technical data has been submitted into the record to inform the FCC’s decision.
- Multiple studies from reputable engineering firms have shown no risk of harmful interference between terrestrial and NGSO users.
- The 12.2-12.7 GHz band has zero federal encumbrances, making the band the best test case for sharing. If you can’t share spectrum in lower 12 GHz, you can’t share anywhere.
As the Notice of Inquiry for the adjacent 12.7-13.25 GHz band was just opened in October 2022 and will take years to bring to market, the FCC can unleash 500 MHz of mid-band spectrum in 12.2-12.7 GHz today. These two bands, if utilized together, would more than triple our available licensed mid-band spectrum and create a block of over 1000 MHz of high-quality spectrum that will propel America to the forefront of next-generation competitiveness.