Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator for telecoms (among other things), has recently confirmed that the UK is set to be the first European country to adopt a proposal that allows low power indoor Wi-Fi signals and outdoor mobile broadband (4G, 5G etc.) networks to “share” access to the Upper 6GHz radio spectrum band (6425 to 7125MHz).

This comes as very welcome and celebratory news to Wi-Fi professionals across the country, who have been waiting for this to happen for a while! 

The lower part of the 6GHz band (5925 to 6425MHz) has already been made available for Wi-Fi by Ofcom through the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards. However, the availability (or lack of) of the upper part has remained the subject to debate. 

Why do Mobile and Wi-Fi operators want access to the Upper 6GHz band?

Mobile operators want to harness the upper band, in a licensed way, in order to deliver faster 5G and future 6G based data speeds. 

Other groups maintain that the upper band should be accessed by licence-exempt consumer Wi-Fi. 

Current users of the upper band, for example, satellite, radio astronomy and fixed services, also share concerns that allowing access to other users will risk causing interference.

Part of the proposal has also been to allow outdoor and higher power Wi-Fi to operate within the Lower 6GHz band under the control of an Automated Frequency Coordination database (historically only low power indoor use Wi-Fi has accessed the lower band). The AFC database will help protect other users from interference, whilst improving Wi-Fi coverage in places like hospitals, factories and sports stadiums. 

Both sides of the debate, for and against sharing access to the upper 6GHz band, have given strong arguments. Ofcom have spent the last few years looking into ‘hybrid sharing’ to try and find some middle-ground between the two camps. This would, hopefully, mean that both Wi-Fi and mobile could be used in the upper 6GHz band. We should caveat this by saying that the co-existence of the two without causing interference remains a challenge. 

How does this ‘hybrid sharing’ of the Upper 6GHz band work? 

Ofcom’s ‘hybrid sharing’ approach works by dividing up the upper 6GHz band. This means that Wi-Fi would be prioritised in one part and mobile in the other. Each would have clear technical conditions and controls attached, which would help to limit the risks from interference. 

The new consultation closes on the 20th March 2026 and finalises Ofcom’s proposals. You can read the full consultation and statement here. 

Although this is very exciting for us Wi-Fi professionals, we must remember that implementation will be a slow process.

Ofcom’s Group Director for Spectrum, David Willis said:

“Today’s announcements reaffirm the UK’s position as a leader in Europe in getting the most out of the airwaves we all rely on.

Sharing Upper 6 GHz would be a win for businesses and homes across the country who want both better Wi-Fi and mobile networks that are fit for the future. And our decision on lower 6 GHz will boost broadband services across the UK.

Our plans open the doors to further economic growth and investment, while supporting the delivery of crucial innovations like 6G in the future.”

What are the latest Ofcom decisions in the Proposal to Share Upper 6GHz Band? 

• Ofcom will authorise, under a licence exemption, use of outdoor and higher power Wi-Fi devices (up to 36 dBm EIRP) in the Lower 6 GHz band (5925–6425 MHz) provided they are under the control of an AFC system.
• As a result, they will require implementation of an AFC system by third parties. They are separately consulting on the details necessary to implement that AFC system.
• Whilst they are consulting further on approaches to enable Wi-Fi in the Upper 6 GHz band (6425–7125 MHz), they will proceed with making low power Wi-Fi client devices available across the Upper 6 GHz band, provided they are connected to an authorised Access Point (“AP”, for example a Wi-Fi router). This decision should allow client devices to be made available for possible future use of the band, thereby helping faster adoption. Use in the band, in practice, will only become possible once they have made a decision on the proposals below to enable Access Points in Upper 6 GHz.
• They will adopt a sub-national licencing approach for mobile in the Upper 6 GHz band in the “mobile priority” portion of the band. They intend to award mobile licences in “high density” areas of the UK and expect to implement a local licensing arrangement (for example, on a first come, first served basis) outside of these high density areas. We will consult further on the specifics of this in spring 2026.

What are Ofcom proposing for Mobile and Wi-Fi use of the Upper 6GHz band? A Brief Summary:

• Ofcom will implement prioritised spectrum sharing in the Upper 6 GHz band, with:

– A “Wi-Fi- priority” portion in the bottom 160 MHz of the band (6425–6585 MHz).

– A “mobile priority” portion in the upper 540 MHz (6585–7125 MHz).

• Ofcom will make the Wi-Fi priority portion available on the same basis as spectrum in the Lower 6 GHz band. This includes indoor and very lower power Wi-Fi, and also outdoor and higher power Wi-Fi provided this is under the control of an AFC system.
• Ofcom will enable early access for Wi-Fi in the mobile priority portion of Upper 6 GHz. In response to feedback from the February 2025 consultation, we propose to only allow this access for Wi-Fi which is under the control of an AFC system. This will ensure that we can clear Wi-Fi out of the way, in the locations and channels where mobile deploys later on.

Mobile Operator Use of the Upper 6GHz Band

Of course, as we said above, the full implementation of this will take a while, especially in terms of mobile use (4G, 5G, 6G). 

This proposal and approach from Ofcom is in part linked to the efforts in Europe to harmonise the use of the same band. A policy very similar to this is expected in 2028. Ofcom is not expecting the support of mobile hardware equipment until 2030. 

Wi-Fi Use of Upper 6GHz Band

As we mentioned earlier, the Wi-Fi side of things requires the new AFC database to help reduce the risk of interference, so that will show down implementation. How does AFC work? It automatically identifies frequencies that can be used by Wi-Fi, without having an impact on existing services. This keeps the task of spectrum management and administration as low demand as possible. The US and Canada already use the AFC system, and other countries are in the consideration stages. 

What do you think about the proposal to share Upper 6GHz band for UK mobile and Wi-Fi? 

Perspectives differ and the debate surrounding this is passionate on both sides. As Wi-Fi professionals, we have been waiting for this to happen for a while and we are excited about what this means for Wi-Fi deployment and coverage for many UK businesses. 

Why will access to the upper 6GHz band be good for Wi-Fi professionals? 

As Wi-Fi engineers, our job is to deploy strong, reliable Wi-Fi with robust coverage in a myriad of business settings and industries. 

Access to the upper 6GHz band will provide Wi-Fi professionals like us here at Geekabit with a massive amount of clean, uncongested spectrum.

In simple terms, access to the Upper 6GHz band for Wi-Fi means:

• faster speeds
• lower latency
• greater capacity

These are all essential for high-density and mission-critical environments like factories, hospitals, and stadiums. 

Key Benefits of Accessing the Upper 6GHz Band for Wi-Fi Professionals:

• Vastly Increased Capacity and Bandwidth: The 6 GHz band can add as much as 1200 MHz of new, contiguous spectrum (depending on the region), more than doubling the combined bandwidth of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This extra capacity is crucial for environments with a high density of users and devices, allowing networks to handle heavy traffic volumes without performance degradation.
  
• Reduced Interference and Congestion: The band is a “greenfield” (empty) spectrum, meaning it is reserved for newer Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 devices only. This exclusivity eliminates interference from older legacy devices and neighboring networks, providing a much cleaner and more reliable radio frequency (RF) environment.
  
• Lower Latency for Critical Applications: The 6 GHz band enables extremely low latency connections, often as low as under one millisecond. This is vital for real-time applications such as remote medical imaging, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) training simulations, autonomous robotics in factories, and instant replays in stadiums.
  
• Wider Channels for Higher Speeds: The large swaths of contiguous spectrum allow for the use of wider channels (e.g., 80 MHz and 160 MHz, and even 320 MHz with Wi-Fi 7). These wider channels facilitate multi-gigabit speeds and higher data throughput, which is perfect for transferring large files like high-resolution medical images.
  
• Improved Network Efficiency and Management: Offloading newer, high-performance devices to the 6 GHz band frees up capacity on the existing 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This improves performance for older devices that cannot access 6 GHz and gives Wi-Fi professionals more flexibility in channel planning and network design.
  
• Enhanced Security: The adoption of the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 often mandates the use of the latest WPA3 security protocol, offering more robust encryption and authentication to protect sensitive data, such as patient records in a hospital.
  
• Support for Innovation: Access to this spectrum future-proofs networks, enabling the adoption of emerging, bandwidth-intensive technologies and services like IoT devices, real-time analytics, and advanced automation, which can enhance operational efficiency and customer care. 

By leveraging the upper 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi professionals like us can design and deploy more resilient, high-performance, and secure wireless networks capable of meeting the rigorous demands of complex environments like our clients in factories, hospitals and stadiums.