The FCC Chairwoman emphasized that regulators and carriers need to start paving the way for next-generation 6G cellular technology now if they hope to avoid the same pitfalls they encountered with the roll out of 5.
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Although 6G is still years away from real-world deployment, most industry experts don't think we'll see it before 2030.
It's not too early to harmonize these efforts around the world, because that will ensure that this next generation can reach everyone everywhere.
The FCC created a Technological Advisory Council last summer to make sure that the U.S. stays on top of emerging communications technologies. Their main focus is to make sure that everything is ready when the time comes.
Poor spectrum allocation and a lack of advance collaboration have often been the cause of the messes that have plagued the roll out of 5G.
The FCC Chairwoman suggests that proper planning earlier on could have solved many of the problems, and she is determined not to repeat those mistakes when the time comes to switch to 6G.
The lessons we have learned with millimeter wave spectrum and 5G should not be forgotten. There is a lot of this spectrum to deploy, but it doesn't travel very far and it's expensive right now.
The FCC plans to identify the best mid-band spectrum to use for 6G years ahead of its actual deployment. With the spectrum coordination initiative announced last month, this should provide plenty of time for discussion about the impact of operating public 6G cellular networks on these frequencies, as well as opportunities for testing and certification of equipment.
It's not just looking to the distant future. She said that companies will soon be able to bid for new 5G spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, which is the largest swath of contiguous mid-band spectrum.
This new spectrum is intended to help carriers extend 5G coverage into less populated areas, ultimately blanketing the entire country with solid 5G across the board.
T-Mobile has been using some of the 2.5 GHz spectrum that it laid claim to in its merger with Sprint. The next auction will be held in July and it is hoping to acquire more.
The FCC will work with other federal agencies to open up more mid-band 5G spectrum in the 3.1 once the 2.5 GHz auction is over. The lower end of the C-band spectrum is used for military applications, just below the controversial frequencies that made the aviation industry so nervous.
The Department of Defense will be given $50 million in pre-auction funding to figure out how to free up some of the spectrum that can be auctioned off as a result of the massive infrastructure bill that passed the U.S. legislature in August.
The bill states that the FCC hopes to be able to grant new licenses to carriers by November 30, 2024, so that it can begin auctioning off this new chunk of spectrum.
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