While dynamic spectrum sharing is a subject of intense discussion and examination in regulatory, research, technical and industry fora – it remains a concept "with potential" with no generalised technology and band-agnostic practical solutions on the horizon. Progress is slow and the prospects and processes for a shift from static… Read more...

There is ongoing momentum around the world as regulators continue to earmark unlicensed or lightly-licensed frameworks spectrum for shared use by localised private networks. The same holds true for unlicensed 6 GHz policy implementations and expanded sharing arrangements in the lower 6 GHz range. A more recent development pertains to… Read more...

While WRC-23 identified portions of the upper 6 GHz band for IMT, there is emergent consideration of sharing between Wi-Fi and IMT in the range. Spectrum sharing is also under investigation between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks underpinned by the need for 6G to be sharing native by design. Read more...

The mantra of spectrum management is the efficient use of scarce radio frequency resources. Over recent years, a number of regulators have sought to enable third party access to unused or under-utilised licensed spectrum resources. Notable examples of this activity are found in the UK, Australia and in several nations… Read more...

Australia has launched a debate on the 600 MHz band while Saudi Arabia has assigned it already. Read more...

Countries in Africa continue to implement unlicensed 6 GHz policies in the 5925—6425 MHz range, while the Ivory Coast is considering licensed upper 6 GHz spectrum. While nations in the Americas have typically implemented unlicensed 6 GHz policies, there is also recent interest in licensed upper 6 GHz spectrum in… Read more...

Many countries are investing heavily in 6G R&D programmes. R&D agendas are seeking to align with the ITU’s IMT-2030 framework and to feed into the ongoing 6G standardisation process. Many 6G R&D initiatives involve multi-year funding for public-private projects involving multiple organisations focused on building 6G platforms and developing 6G… Read more...

Nations in Europe represent 49 per cent of nations globally that have assigned or plan to assign spectrum for private networks. Since PolicyTracker’s last private networks benchmark, published in June 2023, there has been a great deal of activity across Europe with new assignments planned in countries that have already… Read more...

While different stakeholders continue to lobby for and against spectrum set-asides for private networks, PolicyTracker’s updated private networks benchmark shows that a growing number of policy planners around the world are assigning dedicated spectrum resources. This Research Note highlights different stakeholder positions on set-asides and examines the policy objectives driving… Read more...

Beauty contests often end up in the courts but auctions don't, so the conventional wisdom goes. But looking more closely we find that legal action over auctions is a fairly frequent occurrence. Read more...